What does "sketch" mean?
A rapidly executed freehand drawing that is not intended as a finished work, often consisting of a multitude of overlapping lines.
Sketch
/sket͡ʃ/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A rapidly executed freehand drawing that is not intended as a finished work, often consisting of a multitude of overlapping lines.
- Grammar: sketch is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: vignette, abbreviation, abbreviature, abrege.
- Useful contrasts: detailed account, detailed life history, textual description.
- Usage evidence: This project grew out of a sketch I made on a napkin at a party last year.
How to use "sketch"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "sketch" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "sketch" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "sketch" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "sketch" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "sketch" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "vignette" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "sketch", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A rapidly executed freehand drawing that is not intended as a finished work, often consisting of a multitude of overlapping lines.
"Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out.[…]. Ikey the blacksmith had forged us a spearhead after a sketch from a picture of a Greek warrior; and a rake-handle served as a shaft."
- 2 preliminary drawing for later elaboration wordnet
- 3 A rough design, plan, or draft, as a rough draft of a book.
- 4 short descriptive summary (of events) wordnet
- 5 A brief description of a person or account of an incident; a general presentation or outline.
"I have to write a character sketch for a novel study."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 a humorous or satirical drawing published in a newspaper or magazine wordnet
- 7 A brief, light, or unfinished dramatic, musical, or literary work or idea; especially a short, often humorous or satirical scene or play, frequently as part of a revue or variety show.; A brief musical composition or theme, especially for the piano.
- 8 a brief literary description wordnet
- 9 A brief, light, or unfinished dramatic, musical, or literary work or idea; especially a short, often humorous or satirical scene or play, frequently as part of a revue or variety show.; A brief, light, or informal literary composition, such as an essay or short story.
- 10 An amusing person. informal
- 11 A lookout; vigilant watch for something. Ireland, slang
"to keep sketch"
- 12 A humorous newspaper article summarizing political events, making heavy use of metaphor, paraphrase and caricature. UK
"A very capable journalist, he wrote the Parliamentary sketch for the Pall Mall and the Westminster Gazette for several years."
- 13 A formal specification of a mathematical structure or a data type described in terms of a graph and diagrams (and cones (and cocones)) on it. It can be implemented by means of “models”, which are functors which are graph homomorphisms from the formal specification to categories such that the diagrams become commutative, the cones become limiting (i.e., products), the cocones become colimiting (i.e., sums).
Verb
- 1 To make a brief, basic drawing. ambitransitive
"I usually sketch with a pen rather than a pencil."
- 2 describe roughly or briefly or give the main points or summary of wordnet
- 3 To describe briefly and with very few details. transitive
"He sketched the accident, sticking to the facts as they had happened."
- 4 make a sketch of wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Sketchy, shady, questionable. informal
"You call at 9 am on a Saturday, lucky I'm even awake. [...] Then expect me to pick you up at a gas station near a loony bin, that's sketch. I don't even want to ask what you're doing."
Antonyms
detailed accountdetailed life historytextual descriptionbond-energy derivation
Example
"This project grew out of a sketch I made on a napkin at a party last year."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "sketch"?
Common synonyms include: vignette, abbreviation, abbreviature, abrege, abridge, abridgment.
How do you use "sketch" in a sentence?
This project grew out of a sketch I made on a napkin at a party last year.
How do you pronounce "sketch"?
Pronounced /sket͡ʃ/.
Etymology
From Dutch schets or German Skizze, from Italian schizzo, from Latin schedium, from Ancient Greek σχέδιος (skhédios, “made suddenly, off-hand”), from σχεδόν (skhedón, “near, nearby”), from ἔχω (ékhō, “I hold”). Compare scheme.