Herringbone

//ˈhɛɹɪŋˌboʊn// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A bone of a herring. countable, literally

    "The prosperity of Amsterdam was then so great that it was said that Amsterdam was "founded on herring-bones.""

  2. 2
    a twilled fabric with a herringbone pattern wordnet
  3. 3
    A zigzag pattern, especially made by bricks, on a cloth, or by stitches in sewing. countable, uncountable

    "'The best path of life is but a herring-bone pattern.'"

  4. 4
    a pattern of columns of short parallel lines with all the lines in one column sloping one way and lines in adjacent columns sloping the other way; it is used in weaving, masonry, parquetry, embroidery wordnet
  5. 5
    A method of climbing a hill by pointing the skis outward in a V-shape to keep from sliding backwards. countable
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  1. 6
    Twilled fabric woven in rows of parallel sloping lines. countable, uncountable

    "For some strange and elusive reason, the staid, prosaic herringbones have angled themselves into a position of fashion prominence."

Verb
  1. 1
    To stitch in a herringbone pattern.
  2. 2
    To climb a hill by pointing the skis outward in a V-shape to keep from sliding backwards.

Synonyms

All synonyms
corduroycottonfabricherringbone patternherringbone patternnylon

Example

More examples

"The prosperity of Amsterdam was then so great that it was said that Amsterdam was "founded on herring-bones.""

Etymology

From herring + bone.

Related phrases

herringbone gearherringbone stitch

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.