1
a
: a rough drawing representing the chief features of an object or scene and often made as a preliminary study
b
: a tentative draft (as for a literary work)
2
: a brief description (as of a person) or outline
3
a
: a short literary composition somewhat resembling the short story and the essay but intentionally slight in treatment, discursive in style, and familiar in tone
b
: a short instrumental composition usually for piano
c
: a slight theatrical piece having a single scene
especially
: a comic variety act
sketched; sketching; sketches
: to make a sketch, rough draft, or outline of
: to draw or paint a sketch
sketcher
noun
Synonyms
Examples of sketch in a Sentence
Noun
He made a sketch of his house.
He wrote up a sketch of the plot.
There is a biographical sketch of the author on the book's back cover.
Verb
He sketched the trees outside his window.
He likes to sit outside and sketch.
She sketched the plan for us.
Recent Examples on the Web
Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Dec. 2024
Damon Wayans, frustrated by his experience on the show, effectively forced his own firing after going off script during a sketch.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 11 Dec. 2024
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 6 Dec. 2024
In his book Truths: The Future of America published in September, Ramaswamy sketches out a possible DOGE playbook.
—Luke Garrett, NPR, 5 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for sketch 
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Noun
The sketch wasn’t part of the show, but was instead distributed on the program’s social channels, including TikTok and Instagram.
—Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Dec. 2024
Damon Wayans, frustrated by his experience on the show, effectively forced his own firing after going off script during a sketch.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 11 Dec. 2024
Verb
Life as a stay-at-home mom is, however, immediately sketched out as an endless montage of cooking, cleaning, story reading, swing pushing — higher, higher, higher! — and acting as her child’s insta-playdate.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 6 Dec. 2024
In his book Truths: The Future of America published in September, Ramaswamy sketches out a possible DOGE playbook.
—Luke Garrett, NPR, 5 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for sketch
Articles Related to sketch
Dictionary Entries Near sketch
Cite this Entry
“Sketch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sketch. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sketch
1 of 2 noun1
a
: a rough drawing representing the chief features of an object or scene
b
: a rough draft (as of a story)
2
: a brief description or outline
3
: a short comedy piece
sketch
2 of 2 verb1
: to make a sketch, rough draft, or outline of
2
: to draw or paint a sketch
sketcher
noun
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