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PlainSpell

pattern

pat·tern/ˈpætɚn/noun, verb, adjective

pattern is spelled P-A-T-T-E-R-N: 7 letters and 2 syllables (pat·tern). It appears 36 times per million words in written English, the 2,669th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pattern means “Something from which a copy is made; a model or outline” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pattern is patterns.

How many letters and syllables are in pattern?

Letters7: P-A-T-T-E-R-N
Syllables2: pat·tern
In writing36 times per million words; the 2,669th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is pattern?

Pattern appears 36 times per million words in written English, the 2,669th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce pattern?

  • UK /ˈpæ̞t(ə)n/
  • US /ˈpætɚn/
  • US [ˈpæɾɚn]

Pattern has 2 syllables, split pat·tern in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-pattern.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Moire9-pattern.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with pattern?

2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as pattern from its last stressed vowel (/ætəɹn/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of pattern

  • patterns plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • patterning participle, present
  • patterned participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does pattern mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    Something from which a copy is made; a model or outline.

    The wallpaper had a floral pattern.

  2. 2

    Someone or something seen as an example to be imitated; an exemplar.

  3. 3

    archaicA copy.

  4. 4

    A sample; of coins, an example which was struck but never minted.

  5. 5

    A representative example.

  6. 6

    USThe material needed to make a piece of clothing.

  7. 7

    The paper or cardboard template from which the parts of a garment are traced onto fabric prior to cutting out and assembling.

  8. 8

    datedA full-sized model around which a mould of sand is made, to receive the melted metal. It is usually made of wood and in several parts, so as to be removed from the mould without damage.

verb

  1. 1

    To apply a pattern.

  2. 2

    To make or design (anything) by, from, or after, something that serves as a pattern; to copy; to model; to imitate.

  3. 3

    To follow an example.

  4. 4

    To fit into a pattern.

  5. 5

    To serve as an example for.

  6. 6

    To observe an animal closely over time in order to discern its habitual movements and behaviours.

  7. 7

    To arrange, to organise, to fix.

  8. 8

    To assault.

adjective

  1. 1

    Of or in accordance with a usual pattern, or type; model; ideal.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate pattern?

Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of pattern: pat, patt.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Pattern in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchmodèle (that from which a copy is made), motif (motif or decoration), régularité, tendance, schéma (intelligible arrangement which has a…), patron (the paper or cardboard template from which the…)
GermanMuster, Schablone, Modell (that from which a copy is made), Struktur (motif or decoration), Schnittmuster (the paper or cardboard template from which the…), strukturieren (apply a pattern)
Portuguesemolde, modelo (that from which a copy is made), padrão (motif or decoration)
Spanishpatrón, padrón (that from which a copy is made), estampado (motif or decoration), pauta (intelligible arrangement which has a…), estructurar, estampar (apply a pattern)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does pattern come from?

From earlier patten, paterne, from Middle English patron (“patron; example”), from Old French patron, from Medieval Latin patrōnus (“patron”). Doublet of padrone, patron, Patronus, and patroon.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after pattern