Skip to main content
embroidery

embroidery

20 4.7
Decoration on cloth made by sewing thread into raised patterns
  • noun
  • /ɪmˈbroɪdəri/
translation icon : bordado
  • The beautiful embroidery on her dress features intricate floral patterns.
  • embroidery on white cotton
  • silk embroidery
  • wool embroidery

Sicily was very famous for embroidery during the Arab.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • This is plain black and it has really pretty flower embroidery on the shoulders.

  • Such pretty shirts with embroidery.

  • In looking up from her embroidery, she looks up at me.

  • It's like a silver color with cream embroidery all over it.

  • It's velvet with gold embroidery.

  • Miss Alicia, tell us, how is your embroidery coming along?

  • She does the embroidery herself.

  • Look at this exquisite embroidery from the 18th century!

  • In four more months, she would finish the embroidery along the sleeves and on the apron.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Daphne calmly set down her embroidery and reached under the end table.

    Fiction book (2000)

Synonyms

needlepoint
vsembroidery
12 4.9

A kind of hand sewing on canvas that makes decorative pictures

is a broader decorative craft applied to many fabrics and materials
needlework
vsembroidery
5 3.4

Work done by sewing or embroidery and things made in this way

is the focused decorative process rather than the full range of needle tasks
cross-stitch
vsembroidery
1 4.2

A way of sewing small X shapes into cloth to make pictures

is the same sewing decoration but with different stitch shapes and method
stitchery
vsembroidery
1 6.8

Decorative sewing done with a needle and thread

is the broader craft concentrating on pattern creation not general sewing
4.3

Decorative patterns sewn by hand rather than by machine

is similar but can be made by machine as well
needlepoint embroidery
vsembroidery
6.9

A kind of sewing that uses yarn stitched through stiff open canvas to make pictures or patterns

is the general form of this craft done on fabrics beyond canvas
crewelwork
vsembroidery
  • Specialized
9.9

A type of cloth decoration made by sewing coloured wool thread into raised patterns

is the same decoration practice but with thread or other yarn types
drawnwork
vsembroidery
  • Specialized
9.9

Decorative sewing where threads are pulled out of the cloth to make lace patterns

is the craft that decorates without pulling out fabric threads
broderie
vsembroidery
9.9

Decorative stitching on clothes or fabric, often in a delicate style

is the same decorative needle art but not limited to a regional style
fancywork
vsembroidery
  • Archaic
8.7

Decorative sewing like embroidery or lace that makes cloth look nicer

is the specific artistic process of creating raised designs by stitching
needlecraft
vsembroidery
4.4

Making things by hand with a needle, for example sewing and embroidery

is the decorative use of thread to form patterns rather than general hand sewing

Compounds

A pair of rings that hold cloth tight while you sew designs by hand

A tool that holds fabric tight while you sew patterns by hand

A long needle with a large eye that you use to thread thick thread for decorative sewing

A single stitch made with a needle and thread to decorate cloth

Decorative patterns sewn by hand rather than by machine

A kind of sewing that uses yarn stitched through stiff open canvas to make pictures or patterns

How Decorative

embroidery
20 4.7
needlework
5 3.4
stitching
23 2.3

Surface Forms

embroidery singular
embroideries plural

Morphology

embroidery = embroider (transparent) = embroider + y

The noun is formed regularly from the verb 'embroider' with the suffix '-y', denoting the process or result of embroidering.

Etymology

The word embroidery comes from em- ('in' or 'on') and broider ('to stitch'), and it originally meant sewing thread onto cloth. So embroidery is the art of decorating fabric with needle and thread.