test pattern

noun

: a fixed picture broadcast by a television station to assist viewers in adjusting their receivers

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa got on the field so early to prepare for the Dolphins’ Saturday night NFL preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders that the videoboard at Hard Rock Stadium showed a test pattern of colorful stripes. —

Mark Inabinett | Minabinett@al.com, al, 22 Aug. 2022 Local stations typically only showed a test pattern at 7 a.m. —

Brian Stelter, CNN, 13 Jan. 2022 In 1953, something as simple as a test pattern was an advertised event. —

David Reamer, Anchorage Daily News, 25 Oct. 2021 Prior to the debut of the then-novel, post-11pm programming, the nightly news would give way to a test pattern, and then static -- a foreign visual today, in an era when there is always something to stream. —

CNN, 7 May 2021 Many would be able to remember the Indian Head test pattern that was widely broadcast each night on American televisions up through the 1970s. —

Joan Gaylord, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 July 2018 This, from a league whose TV ratings are higher than test patterns, but lower than Liga MX. —

Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, 17 Apr. 2018 See More

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