tapestry

American  

[tap-uh-stree] / ˈtæp ə stri /

noun

plural

tapestries

1. a fabric consisting of a warp upon which colored threads are woven by hand to produce a design, often pictorial, used for wall hangings, furniture coverings, etc.

2. a machine-woven reproduction of this.

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verb (used with object)

tapestried, tapestrying

1. to furnish, cover, or adorn with tapestry.

2. to represent or depict in a tapestry.

tapestry British  

/ ˈtæpɪstrɪ /

noun

1. a heavy ornamental fabric, often in the form of a picture, used for wall hangings, furnishings, etc, and made by weaving coloured threads into a fixed warp

2. another word for needlepoint

3. a colourful and complicated situation

   the rich tapestry of London life

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Other Word Forms

• tapestried adjective
• tapestry-like adjective
• tapestrylike adjective

Etymology

Origin of tapestry

1400–50; late Middle English tapst ( e ) ry, tapistry < Middle French tapisserie carpeting. See tapis, -ery

Example Sentences

The trio of colorful and competing events left the city's monument area thronged with tourists, activists and selfie-seekers -- a tapestry of political protest, environmental tourism and family fun.

From Barron's

Highlights include the first painting he completed entirely on his own, as well as tapestries designed for the Sistine Chapel.

From Barron's

Some jackets and skirts featured gold fabric and tapestries.

From BBC

There’s smaller mysteries, bigger mysteries, and they’re all put together so well that it becomes like a tapestry.

From Los Angeles Times

If a memo about a software update uses words like delve, tapestry, beacon or myriad, a machine wrote it.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• drapery