patchwork

noun, often attributive patch·work \ ˈpach-ˌwərk \

|Updated on: 12 Jul 2018

Definition of patchwork

1 : something composed of miscellaneous or incongruous parts : hodgepodge

2 : pieces of cloth of various colors and shapes sewn together to form a covering; also : something resembling such a covering

a patchwork of fields

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Examples of patchwork in a Sentence

The valley is a patchwork of family farms.
A patchwork of laws prevent the land from being developed.
a patchwork system of laws

Recent Examples of patchwork from the Web

The park's remoteness means officials have had to assemble a patchwork of recycling resources.

— laurel andrews, Anchorage Daily News, "Denali National Park tackles trash with zero-landfill initiative," 8 July 2018
The swap Heinrich devised with the bill’s co-sponsor, New Mexico Senator Tom Udall, is less an exchange of one chunk for another and more a complex patchwork of trades.

— hayden carpenter, Outside Online, "Our Next National Park Could Be in New Mexico," 3 July 2018
The organization’s 27 programs, funds and agencies largely operate independently, creating a patchwork of policies across a vast bureaucracy.

— New York Times, "U.N. Cases Read Like ‘Manual in How Not to Investigate’ Sexual Assault," 29 June 2018
In fact, the government inherited a rich patchwork of charitable hospitals, school medical services and employer- and government-subsidised health care.

— The Economist, "The three myths of the NHS," 28 June 2018
Since Roe was handed down in 1973, a patchwork of laws have been introduced and passed across the states to regulate how and when women can access abortions.

— maya rhodan, Time, "Both Sides of the Abortion Debate Think Justice Kennedy's Retirement Is a Game-Changer," 27 June 2018
The aim is to boost commerce within a continent that currently has low levels of intra-regional trade and supplant a patchwork of existing agreements.

— emele onu, Bloomberg.com, "Nigeria Manufacturing Body Opposes African Free Trade Area," 26 June 2018
Libya slid into chaos after the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed Moammar Gadhafi, and today is largely ruled a patchwork of feuding militias.

— Fox News, "Libyan airstrikes target group attacking oil ports," 18 June 2018
Mencius Moldbug, who talks about having a global patchwork of small city states, which would be essentially corporate shareholder dictatorships.

— recode staff, Recode, "Full transcript: Corey Pein, author of ‘Live Work Work Work Die,’ on Recode Decode," 13 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'patchwork.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.