tapestry

noun

tap·​es·​try ˈta-pə-strē 

plural tapestries

1

a

: a heavy handwoven reversible textile used for hangings, curtains, and upholstery and characterized by complicated pictorial designs

b

: a nonreversible imitation of tapestry used chiefly for upholstery

c

: embroidery on canvas resembling woven tapestry

needlepoint tapestry

2

: something resembling tapestry (as in complexity or richness of design)

nature's rich tapestry

Examples of tapestry in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

To make the most of the sunshine and tie-dye a shirt, bag, tapestry, or towel, let the item soak in a mixture of soda ash and warm water for one hour. —Claire Hoppe Norgaard, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 June 2025

This season, felines are a recurring motif, with cats appliquéd on shirts or embroidered on tapestry jackets. —Gemma A. Williams, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025

Finnegans Wake, in his skillful hands, is a tapestry of all the works Joyce ever wrote, the final and protracted project of a writer who could never stop thinking about Ireland. —Eric Bulson, The Atlantic, 16 June 2025

June 22 Indian Jazz Journey — Stanford Jazz Festival 2025: This collaboration, enriched by guest artists from both the Indian classical and Western jazz traditions, weaves a tapestry of sound that is at once familiar and refreshingly new. —Jake Richardson, Mercury News, 16 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, modification of Anglo-French tapicerie, from tapit, tapis carpet, hanging, from Greek tapētion, diminutive of tapēt-, tapēs carpet

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing tapestry

• tapestry carpet

Kids Definition

tapestry

noun

tap·​es·​try ˈtap-ə-strē 

plural tapestries

: a heavy cloth that has designs or pictures woven into it and is used especially as a wall hanging

tapestried

-strēd

adjective