# pattern

Pronunciation: US say "PAT-urn" /ˈpætɚn/; UK say "PAT-uhn" /ˈpatən/

## Noun

1. A regular way in which something happens or is done, or a recognizable arrangement of events, facts, or features that shows a relationship or allows predictions.
   - Simple: The regular way something happens or is done, or an order you can see in events or facts.
   - _Analysts spotted a clear pattern in the company's quarterly losses._
   - _The numbers followed a predictable pattern, doubling at each step._
2. An arrangement of shapes, lines, or colors that repeats or looks regular, whether made as decoration or formed by nature or chance.
   - Simple: Shapes or colors arranged in a regular or repeated way, like on cloth or an animal's coat.
   - _The fabric featured an intricate pattern of interlocking diamonds._
   - _Geometric patterns covered the mosque's tiled walls._
3. A paper or cardboard shape used as a guide for marking or cutting out the pieces of a garment from fabric before they are sewn.
   - Simple: A paper or cardboard shape used to cut out the pieces of clothing.
   - _The tailor laid the pattern over the wool and traced around it._
   - _Adjusting the pattern slightly gave the jacket a looser fit._
4. An original object or template that is copied to make others of the same shape or design, such as a full-sized form, often of wood, used to make a mold for casting metal.
   - Simple: A model you copy from to make something, such as a shape used to make a mold.
   - _The foundry carved a wooden pattern before casting the new metal part._
   - _Each tile was made from the same master pattern._
8. Someone or something held up as an example worth imitating; an exemplar.
   - Simple: A person or thing that is so good that others try to copy it.
   - _The young king became a pattern of virtue for his subjects._
   - _Victorian moralists held up the dutiful daughter as a pattern for every girl to follow._
6. A reusable, general solution to a commonly occurring problem in software design.
   - Simple: A common way to solve a programming problem that many people reuse.
   - _The observer pattern lets objects react when another object changes._
   - _Developers applied a factory pattern to create the new objects._
9. A text string containing wildcards, used to match other strings.
   - Simple: A piece of text with special symbols used to match or find other text.
   - _The script matched each line against a pattern with two wildcards._
   - _A single pattern caught every email address in the document._
10. A sample or specimen that shows what a larger whole or a proposed design is like, such as a trial coin that was never issued.
   - Simple: A sample that shows what a larger group or a planned design is like.
   - _The museum owns a rare pattern, a trial coin whose design the mint never issued._
   - _The star of the auction was a gold pattern for a coin that the mint never issued._
12. The spread, range, and arrangement of shot pellets after being fired from a gun.
   - Simple: The way the small pellets from a shotgun spread out when fired.
   - _At forty yards the pattern had spread too wide for a clean shot._
   - _Hunters test different chokes to find the pattern that suits their quarry._

## Verb

7. To model something on an example, or to follow it closely; usually used with "after" or "on".
   - Simple: To make or do something by copying an example.
   - _The architects patterned the library after a Greek temple._
   - _Writers sometimes pattern their heroes on people they admire._
5. To apply a design or repeated arrangement to a surface.
   - Simple: To cover something with a design, often a repeated one.
   - _Artisans pattern the silk with rows of tiny flowers._
   - _He patterned the wooden box with carved swirls._
11. To fall into or fit a regular, recognizable arrangement.
   - Simple: To fit into a regular or repeated way of happening.
   - _These dialects pattern together in their vowel sounds._
   - _The survey responses pattern according to age group._
15. To study an animal closely over a period of time in order to learn its habitual movements and behaviors.
   - Simple: To watch an animal over time to learn how it usually moves and behaves.
   - _Experienced hunters pattern a flock of turkeys to predict where they roost._
   - _She patterned the herd through the fall, noting each feeding ground._

## Adjective

13. Matching the usual or ideal type so closely that it serves as a model for others of its kind.
   - Simple: Seen as a perfect example of its kind, one that others should copy.
   - _She was held up as a pattern wife in the old novels._
   - _In the novel, the vicar's wife is held up as a pattern housekeeper, though the narrator clearly finds her tiresome._

## Verb

14. To serve as a model or example for someone or something. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To act as a model for someone or something else.

## Noun

16. Enough fabric or other material to make a single garment. *(dated, US)*
   - Simple: The amount of cloth you need to make one piece of clothing.

## Other meanings

- (noun) In a tracker module, a sequence of notes and percussion that can be used once or repeated throughout the song.
- (noun) A particular configuration of cells within the grid of a cellular automaton.
- (verb) To arrange, organize, or set something in order.
- (noun) An arrangement, agreement, or established way of conducting business.
- (verb) To set things up so that something, especially illegal drugs, can be sold or supplied.
- (verb) To physically attack or assault someone.
- (verb) To punish or discipline someone in order to teach them a lesson.
- (verb) To do or perform some activity.
- (verb) To have sexual intercourse with someone.
- (noun) A reproduction or duplicate of something.
- (noun) In Singapore English, a habit of making a fuss, playing tricks, or stirring up trouble.
- (noun) In Ireland, the prayers and gatherings a parish holds each year on its patron saint's feast day.

## Origin

Medieval Latin patrōnus ("patron") gave Old French patron, which became Middle English patron, meaning both "patron" and "example." Through earlier forms such as patten and paterne it became the modern word. Its doublets are padrone, patron, Patronus, and patroon.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/pattern (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).