1
a
: a rough drawing representing the chief features of an object or scene and often made as a preliminary study
b
: a tentative draft (as for a literary work)
2
: a brief description (as of a person) or outline
3
a
: a short literary composition somewhat resembling the short story and the essay but intentionally slight in treatment, discursive in style, and familiar in tone
b
: a short instrumental composition usually for piano
c
: a slight theatrical piece having a single scene
especially
: a comic variety act
sketched; sketching; sketches
: to make a sketch, rough draft, or outline of
: to draw or paint a sketch
sketcher
noun
Examples of sketch in a Sentence
Noun
He made a sketch of his house.
He wrote up a sketch of the plot.
There is a biographical sketch of the author on the book's back cover.
Verb
He sketched the trees outside his window.
He likes to sit outside and sketch.
She sketched the plan for us.
Recent Examples on the Web
Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 12 May 2025
Saturday’s episode marked Arcade Fire’s sixth appearance on the long-running NBC sketch comedy show.
—Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 11 May 2025
Bill Conerly, Forbes.com, 6 May 2025
But months on, the U.S. has still not produced a road map sketching out which capabilities Washington plans on withdrawing from Europe, and what the continent will have to urgently replace, a central European official involved in defense planning, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Newsweek.
—Carlo Versano, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for sketch
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Noun
The singer was reportedly asked to be in a sketch with Madison, Bowen Yang, Chloe Fineman, Ego Nwodim, and Sarah Sherman, but declined.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 12 May 2025
Saturday’s episode marked Arcade Fire’s sixth appearance on the long-running NBC sketch comedy show.
—Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 11 May 2025
Verb
Third, sketch out contingency plans for the downside risks.
—Bill Conerly, Forbes.com, 6 May 2025
But months on, the U.S. has still not produced a road map sketching out which capabilities Washington plans on withdrawing from Europe, and what the continent will have to urgently replace, a central European official involved in defense planning, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Newsweek.
—Carlo Versano, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for sketch
Cite this Entry
“Sketch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sketch. Accessed 16 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sketch
1 of 2 noun1
a
: a rough drawing representing the chief features of an object or scene
b
: a rough draft (as of a story)
2
: a brief description or outline
3
: a short comedy piece
sketch
2 of 2 verb1
: to make a sketch, rough draft, or outline of
2
: to draw or paint a sketch
sketcher
noun
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