What does "swatch" mean?
A piece, pattern, or sample, generally of cloth or a similar material.
Swatch
/swɒtʃ/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A piece, pattern, or sample, generally of cloth or a similar material.
- Grammar: swatch is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: color sample, fabric sample, material sample, piece.
- Useful contrasts: bulk fabric, whole cloth.
- Usage evidence: Yanni screwed the light swatch back to the wall.
How to use "swatch"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "swatch" 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 "swatch" 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 "swatch" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "swatch" 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 "swatch" is acting as name, noun, verb 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 "color sample" 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 "swatch", 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 piece, pattern, or sample, generally of cloth or a similar material.
"He held a swatch of the wallpaper up to see if the colors would match the room."
- 2 A channel or passage of water between sandbanks, or between a sandbank and a seashore. UK
"It muſt be obſerved, that the paſſages, called Cockerlees, are no other than ſwatches through the Long-Sand."
- 3 a sample piece of cloth wordnet
- 4 A selection of such samples bound together.
"“Aisha, access the Pupa's informational color swatches. Okay, royal blue means the Pupa has kennel cough, cornflower blue means one of us just had a sex dream about the other one, navy blue means his Hulu plan is expiring, robin's egg blue means we get a free Xbox, Pacific blue means we all die at midnight!” [all gasp] “We were so close to gettin' that Xbox!”"
- 5 A clump or portion of something. figuratively
"I found myself truly moved by a stage event for the first time in years. I found myself humming tunes that one might not rightfully call tunes. Days later, I still remember these musical phrasings in little swatches of sound."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A demonstration, an example, a proof. figuratively
"Pray Sir, pay off the Old Debt, before I truſt you more New. This is a Swatch of Your Faith, and how much You are a Man of Your Word."
- 7 A tag or other small object attached to another item as a means of identifying its owner; a tally; specifically the counterfoil of a tally. Northern-England, obsolete
"ITEM that the said Clerkis of the Brevements entre all the Taillis of the Furniunturs in the Jornall Booke in the Countynghous every day furthwith after the Brede be delyveret to the Pantre and then the Stoke [i.e., main part] of the Taill to by delyveret to the Baker and the Swache to the Pantler. … ITEM that the said Clerkis of the Brevements entre all the Taills of the Brasyantors in the Jornall Booke in the Countynghous at every tyme furthwith after the Bere be delyveret into the Buttry and then the Stoke of the Taill to be delyveret to the Brewar and the Swatche to the Butler."
Verb
- 1 To create a swatch, especially a sample of knitted fabric.
"Swatching is important in knitting to obtain the correct gauge."
Proper Noun
- 1 A brand of relatively inexpensive Swiss analog watches.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
bulk fabricwhole cloth
Example
"Yanni screwed the light swatch back to the wall."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "swatch"?
Common synonyms include: color sample, fabric sample, material sample, piece, sample, solid blue.
How do you use "swatch" in a sentence?
Yanni screwed the light swatch back to the wall.
How do you pronounce "swatch"?
Pronounced /swɒtʃ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From earlier Northern England dialectal swache (“the counterfoil or counterstock of a tally”) (1512); further etymology unknown. Cognate with Scots swach, swatch. Compare English swath, swathe. Compare also Old English swæcc (“taste; flavour; odour; fragrance”).
Etymology 2
Unknown; originally used chiefly in the East of England.
Etymology 3
From second watch or Swiss watch.