Sketch Meaning
/ˈskɛt͡ʃ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo make a brief, basic drawing.
verbTo describe briefly and with very few details.
Sentence Examples
Make a sketch of your house.
The police asked the girl to make a rough sketch of her lost dog.
He begins to sketch no matter where he is.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The artist made a quick ____ of the model's face with charcoal.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The artist took out his pencil to quickly ____ the beautiful landscape before the sun went down.
Word Origin & History
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, “to hold”). Compare scheme.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter II, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
"Drawings and pictures are more than mere ornaments in scientific discourse. Blackboard sketches, geological maps, diagrams of molecular structure, astronomical photographs, MRI images, the many varieties of statistical charts and graphs: These pictorial devices are indispensable tools for presenting evidence, for explaining a theory, for telling a story."
— 2012 March 26, Brian Hayes, “Pixels or Perish”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 106:
"A very capable journalist, he wrote the Parliamentary sketch for the Pall Mall and the Westminster Gazette for several years."
— 1901, Sketch: A Journal of Art and Actuality:
"The Daily Telegraph sketch concentrated on the Bishop's attack and included rebutting remarks from Lord Longford, describing the attack as monumentally unfair because Mr. Cook could not reply."
— 1978, Robin Callender Smith, Press law, Sweet and Maxwell:
"Frank had won a reputation while writing the Times sketch as one of the wittiest writers and talkers in England."
— 2012, Andrew Gimson, Boris: The Rise of Boris Johnson, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The artist made a quick ____ of the model's face with charcoal.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The artist took out his pencil to quickly ____ the beautiful landscape before the sun went down.