Illustration of tracery
- tracery 1
tracery
noun
trac·ery
ˈtrā-sə-rē 
ˈtrās-rē
plural traceries
1
: architectural ornamental work with branching lines
especially
: decorative openwork in a Gothic window
2
: a decorative interlacing of lines suggestive of Gothic tracery
Examples of tracery in a Sentence
This window is an example of Gothic tracery.
the delicate tracery of a butterfly's wing
Recent Examples on the Web
The contrast is beautifully maintained by the physical production, in which even the breeze-block wall framing the patio, by the design studio dots, is on point: a tracery of concrete and air.
—
Jesse Green, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2023
From the outset indicating the centrality of composer Eiko Ishibashi’s score, we are drawn into the film with a long musical excerpt, only accompanied by fluid tracking shot, looking upward: a tracery of tree branches, feathered out against a winter sky.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 4 Sep. 2023
Yet, his exquisite graphite drawing positions a viewer behind an iron railing decorated with the elegant tracery of the king’s monogram.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 14 June 2023
The building contains over 10,000 wooden diamonds and over 1,500 linear feet of Gothic tracery panels with more than 110 different designs inspired by European concert halls.
—Gabi De La Rosa, Chron, 17 May 2023
The silhouette of bare trees and the tracery of naked shrubs offer their own seasonal testament, but people need the reassurance of winter greenery to tell them that the plant world is still alive and that the promise of a far-off spring will be kept.
—Washington Post, 2 Dec. 2020
Small pea-like flowers line branches with fuchsia tracery.
—BostonGlobe.com, 9 May 2021
Designed by the architect Cass Gilbert, it’s draped in glazed white terra-cotta, embellished with neo-Gothic arches and tracery, and rises nearly eight hundred feet above lower Manhattan.
—Burkhard Bilger, The New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2020
As seen from space, the tracery at the melting edge of sea ice is beautiful.
—Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 25 Apr. 2013
See More
Jesse Green, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2023
From the outset indicating the centrality of composer Eiko Ishibashi’s score, we are drawn into the film with a long musical excerpt, only accompanied by fluid tracking shot, looking upward: a tracery of tree branches, feathered out against a winter sky.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 4 Sep. 2023
Yet, his exquisite graphite drawing positions a viewer behind an iron railing decorated with the elegant tracery of the king’s monogram.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 14 June 2023
The building contains over 10,000 wooden diamonds and over 1,500 linear feet of Gothic tracery panels with more than 110 different designs inspired by European concert halls.
—Gabi De La Rosa, Chron, 17 May 2023
The silhouette of bare trees and the tracery of naked shrubs offer their own seasonal testament, but people need the reassurance of winter greenery to tell them that the plant world is still alive and that the promise of a far-off spring will be kept.
—Washington Post, 2 Dec. 2020
Small pea-like flowers line branches with fuchsia tracery.
—BostonGlobe.com, 9 May 2021
Designed by the architect Cass Gilbert, it’s draped in glazed white terra-cotta, embellished with neo-Gothic arches and tracery, and rises nearly eight hundred feet above lower Manhattan.
—Burkhard Bilger, The New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2020
As seen from space, the tracery at the melting edge of sea ice is beautiful.
—Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 25 Apr. 2013
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tracery.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1669, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near tracery
Cite this Entry
“Tracery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tracery. Accessed 30 Sep. 2023.
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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about tracery
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