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Synonyms

quilting

American  
[kwil-ting] / ˈkwɪl tɪŋ /

noun

  1. the act of a person who quilts.

  2. material for making quilts.

  3. a heavily padded wrapping, as for fragile cargo.

quilting British  
/ ˈkwɪltɪŋ /

noun

  1. material used for making a quilt

  2. the act or process of making a quilt

  3. quilted work

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of quilting

First recorded in 1605–15; quilt + -ing 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Perhaps that is because while I was teaching and teaching teachers, I also had my side gigs—entertaining big groups, experimenting in the kitchen, a quilting group.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

For example, quilting has long been a domestically appropriate medium for women to express their political beliefs, well before they had the right to vote.

From Slate • Jan. 29, 2026

"It wasn’t her family pictures, it wasn't her jewellery, it was her quilting."

From BBC • Dec. 26, 2024

Repurposing fabric — from tattered blankets, frayed rags, stained clothes — is a central ethos of the community’s quilting practice, which resists commodification.

From Seattle Times • May 10, 2024

“We’ll go by the First Baptist Church and help with the food drive, and then we can stop in on a quilting circle at the nursing home. Oh, they’ll get a kick out of you.”

From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.