sketch /skɛtʃ /
▸ noun
1 a rough or unfinished drawing or painting, often made to assist in making a more finished picture:
a charcoal sketch.
▪ a brief written or spoken account or description, giving only basic details:
a biographical sketch of Ernest Hemingway.
▪ a rough or unfinished version of any creative work:
you can see how the first movement evolved from the composer's sketches.
2 a short humorous play or performance, consisting typically of one scene in a revue or comedy programme:
a hilarious sketch for their latest BBC series.
3 informal, dated a comical or amusing person or thing.
▸ verb [with obj.] make a rough drawing of:
as they talked, Modigliani began to sketch her |
[no obj.] Jeanne sketched and painted whenever she had the time.
▪ (sketch something out/in) give a brief account or general outline of something:
they sketched out the prosecution case.
▪ perform (a gesture) with one's hands or body:
he sketched a graceful bow in her direction.
– DERIVATIVES sketcher noun.
– ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Dutch schets or German Skizze, from Italian schizzo, from schizzare ‘make a sketch’, based on Greek skhedios ‘done extempore’.