sketch

1 of 2

noun

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

sketch

2 of 2

verb

sketched; sketching; sketches

transitive verb

: to make a sketch, rough draft, or outline of

intransitive verb

: 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. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
In a court sketch, the That '70s Show actor was seen blowing a kiss to Phillips before being led away to prison. Stephanie Wenger, Peoplemag, 8 Sep. 2023 Some of the oldest pieces in the collection line a hallway around the corner: sketches by Edmund Pink, oil paintings by Thomas Bowler, and a depiction of Camps Bay beach and the iconic Twelve Apostles mountain range by Jan Volshenk. Sarah Khan, Robb Report, 7 Sep. 2023 Osage County investigators believe the sketch could be linked to a missing woman last seen in Southeast Kansas in 1991. Jean Casarez, CNN, 4 Sep. 2023 But Osage County Sheriff Eddie Virden — who has recently interviewed Rader — hopes that the trove of sketches, which authorities obtained after his 2005 arrest, will help prove otherwise. Evan Rosen New York Daily News (tns), al, 3 Sep. 2023 And even though the caption for the video did not explicitly identify it as a sketch, those involved in its production didn’t exactly hide it, either: the video has its own IMDB entry, and some cast members even posted photos of shooting it on Instagram. Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 1 Sep. 2023 Hundreds of charcoal sketches adorn the walls of Gua Sireh Cave, located on the island of Borneo in Sarawak, Malaysia. Teresa Nowakowski, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Aug. 2023 The Saturday Night Live alum and host of Late Night with Seth Meyers is the older brother of Josh Meyers, a fellow actor and comedian who is perhaps best known for his work on the sketch comedy show MADtv and for starring in the final season of That ‘70s Show. Sophie Dodd, Peoplemag, 27 Aug. 2023 Fast forward to 2022, when the script idea resurfaced, and the sketch had become streamlined. Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 26 Aug. 2023
Verb
Editor in chief Stan Lee would often give Jack Kirby the precis of a plot, then leave it to the artist to lay out each page, sketch the appropriate pictures, and even write the narration and dialogue. Michael Dirda, Washington Post, 8 Sep. 2023 In fact, an electric GTI was firmly in mind when VW’s design team was sketching out the ID.2all, leaving us with an intriguing chicken-and-egg conundrum to puzzle over. Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 5 Sep. 2023 Inspired by the 2004 cabbage weigh-off, Lawton sketched out handmade costumes and recruited five friends to join her in the flouncy tulle creations. Amy Bushatz, Anchorage Daily News, 2 Sep. 2023 People could sip lemonade, chomp on tacos, learn about ceramics and photography, get portraits sketched, and take home original watercolors or distinctive jewelry — all within a mile-long stretch. Roxana Popescu, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Aug. 2023 Tool use also activates these neurons, and tools are often used in food preparation, eating and forms of communication (such as sketching precise shapes with a pencil or typing on a keyboard). R. Douglas Fields, Quanta Magazine, 28 Aug. 2023 Mason Gordon, then an employee at the movie and television production company Tollin/Robbins Productions, sketched out the idea for Slam Ball on a napkin in 1999 and first put it into action in a Los Angeles warehouse in 2001. Dustin Dopirak, The Indianapolis Star, 22 Aug. 2023 Santamaria sketched the mural and traced the shapes for the painters to paint in. Cathy Kozlowicz, Journal Sentinel, 24 Aug. 2023 That time, Joe sketched sketched out a cloud with a lightning bolt coming out of it, which the fan promptly got inked on her ankle. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 17 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sketch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Dutch schets, from Italian schizzo, literally, splash, from schizzare to splash, of imitative origin

First Known Use

Noun

1668, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1694, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of sketch was in 1668

Dictionary Entries Near sketch

Cite this Entry

“Sketch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sketch. Accessed 27 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

sketch

1 of 2 noun
1
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 verb
1
: to make a sketch, rough draft, or outline of
2
: to draw or paint a sketch
sketcher noun

More from Merriam-Webster on sketch

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