patchwork

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In 1850, the nation’s railroad network was a small patchwork concentrated most heavily in Northeastern states.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 1, 2026

Empathy, the nuclear fusion of playwriting, is expanded when we’re allowed to take in more of our patchwork selves.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2026

The 5th Circuit’s ruling neuters a law that Congress enacted in 2020 to impose nationwide standards on the horse racing industry after the existing state-by-state patchwork failed to prevent equine fatalities and corruption scandals.

From Slate • Jun. 12, 2026

In the 1980s Hockney invented a kind of photo collage he dubbed "joiners" that used slightly different images to produce a patchwork akin to the cubist painting of his hero Pablo Picasso.

From Barron's • Jun. 12, 2026

By the end of the first millennium a.d., agriculture was spreading rapidly and the region was becoming an unusual patchwork of communities, each with its preferred terrain, way of subsistence, and cultural style.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann