Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Old French
Origin: patron, from Medieval Latin patronus; PATRON


1 noun
pat‧tern1 S3 W1 [countable]
1 the regular way in which something happens, develops, or is done:
Weather patterns have changed in recent years.
pattern of
changing patterns of behaviour among students
The child showed a normal pattern of development.
pattern in
They noticed patterns in the data.
A general pattern began to emerge.
Their descriptions seemed to follow a set pattern (=always develop in the same way).
His behavior fits a pattern of violent acts.
a) C a regularly repeated arrangement of shapes, colours, or lines on a surface, usually as decoration:
a black and white striped pattern
pattern of
a pattern of dots
b) A a regularly repeated arrangement of sounds or words:
A sonnet has a fixed rhyming pattern.
3 [usually singular] a thing, idea, or person that is an example to copy:
The book set the pattern for over 40 similar historical romances.
4DLH a shape used as a guide for making something, especially a thin piece of paper used when cutting material to make clothes:
a dress pattern
5DTIM a small piece of cloth, paper etc that shows what a larger piece will look like [= sample]

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