test pattern

noun

, Television.

1. a geometric design broadcast to receivers for testing the quality of transmission, often identifying the transmitting station and channel.

Word History and Origins

Origin of test pattern¹

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

Jackson’s image glows blood-red, then flips to a television test pattern as the kids file out into the world.

From Los Angeles Times

During the evening, Mr. Morrisett told the guests that his daughter Sarah was so mesmerized by TV that she would watch the test pattern on weekend mornings until cartoons began.

From New York Times

That’s certainly not what I’d tell my young daughter, if she weren’t so disgusted by the meanness and futility around our politics that she’d rather watch a test pattern on TV than sit through 10 minutes of these hearings, as important and dramatic as they are.

From Washington Post

Writer-director-producer Shatara Michelle Ford saw her movie “Test Pattern” nominated for first feature, first screenplay and female lead for Brittany S. Hall.

From Los Angeles Times

Our New Generation prize, given to a breakout filmmaker or performer, was awarded jointly to Shatara Mitchell Ford, who made one of the year’s sharpest debut features with “Test Pattern,” and Tatiana Huezo, who made a powerful swerve from nonfiction into fiction with the devastating “Prayers for the Stolen.”

From Los Angeles Times