# sketch

Pronunciation: say "SKECH" US/UK /skɛt͡ʃ/, AUS /sket͡ʃ/

## Noun

1. A quick, freehand drawing made without much detail, often built from many overlapping lines, and not intended as a finished work.
   - Simple: A quick drawing made by hand, not meant to be a finished picture.
   - _The artist filled three pages with sketches of the harbor at dawn._
   - _He made a rough sketch of the suspect's face from the witness's description._
3. A brief description of a person or account of an incident; a general outline or presentation.
   - Simple: A short description that gives the main facts but not the details.
   - _The biography opens with a sketch of the senator's early years._
   - _Reporters received only a sketch of the negotiations before the press conference._
4. A rough design, plan, or draft, such as an early draft of a book.
   - Simple: A rough first version of a plan, design, or piece of writing.
   - _Her first sketch of the dissertation ran to only five pages._
   - _The founders worked from a sketch of the business model scrawled on a napkin._
6. A brief, light, or unfinished piece or idea in drama, music, or writing; especially a short scene or play, often comic or satirical, frequently staged within a variety show or revue.
   - Simple: A short piece of acting, music, or writing, often a funny scene performed as part of a bigger show.
   - _The troupe closed the revue with a sketch mocking the city council's new parking rules._
   - _She spent her twenties writing sketches for a late-night variety show before landing her own sitcom._
7. An essay, short story, or similar literary piece that is brief, light in tone, or casual in style.
   - Simple: A short, light piece of writing, such as a story or essay.
   - _The collection gathers the comic sketches he wrote for various magazines early in his career._
   - _Her sketch of village life ran to barely two thousand words._
8. A brief instrumental piece or musical theme, most commonly one for the piano.
   - Simple: A short piece of music, often written for the piano.
   - _The recital ended with a delicate sketch for solo piano._
   - _The composer's piano sketches, each under three minutes, became favorites of amateur players._
10. An amusing person; someone whose behavior or talk entertains others. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A funny person whose words or actions make other people laugh.
   - _My grandmother was a sketch, forever doing impressions of the neighbors._
   - _He's a sketch on the golf course, narrating every shot like a broadcaster._
11. A newspaper account that uses extensive metaphor, paraphrase, and caricature to give a humorous summary of the day's political events. *(UK)*
   - Simple: A funny newspaper article that describes the day's political news in a joking way.
   - _His parliamentary sketch compared the debate to a school sports day gone wrong._
   - _The paper's sketch writer filed her piece minutes after Prime Minister's Questions ended._

## Verb

2. To make a brief, basic drawing of something.
   - Simple: To make a quick, simple drawing of something.
   - _Students had ten minutes to sketch the bowl of fruit on the table._
   - _He sat by the window, sketching the people passing below._
5. To describe something briefly and with very few details.
   - Simple: To describe something quickly, giving only the main points.
   - _He paused to sketch the background of the case before answering questions._
   - _The report sketches the main arguments without taking a side._

## Adjective

9. Of dubious safety or character; questionable, shady, or untrustworthy. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Seeming unsafe, strange, or not to be trusted.
   - _The deal sounded sketch from the start, so she walked away._
   - _We left the party early because the crowd was getting sketch._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A vigilant watch kept for someone approaching, especially in order to warn others; a lookout.
- (noun) A formal specification of a mathematical structure or data type, given as a graph together with diagrams, cones, and cocones on it; implemented by models that map it into a category.

## Origin

English took this from Dutch schets or German Skizze, which came from Italian schizzo, from Latin schedium, and ultimately from Ancient Greek skhédios, meaning 'made suddenly, off-hand', related to a word meaning 'near' and to a verb meaning 'I hold'.

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