Word.ws English Dictionary

mosaic

/məʊˈzeɪk//moʊˈzeɪ.ɪk/

mosaic noun: a piece of artwork created by placing colored pieces (usually tiles, either regular or irregular in shape) in a pattern so as to create a picture.

mosaic: a piece of artwork created by placing colored pieces (usually tiles, either regular or irregular in...
Image: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

mosaic (countable and uncountable, plural mosaics)

  1. A piece of artwork created by placing colored pieces (usually tiles, either regular or irregular in shape) in a pattern so as to create a picture.
  2. Pixelization. (a method of censorship)
    • Using censorship's ability to enhance laughter, modern comedy uses a full array of censorship tools: strategically placed censors' black bars ... digitalized mosaic blurs or pixilations^([sic]) that obscure body parts, crude gestures, and the like ...2019, Laura Little, Guilty Pleasures: Comedy and Law in America, Oxford University Press, archived from the original on 19 Jul 2023, page 65
  3. An individual composed of two or more cell lines of different genetic or chromosomal constitution, but from the same zygote.
  4. Any of several viral diseases that cause mosaic-like patterns to appear on leaves.
  5. A composite picture made from overlapping photographs.
  6. (figuratively) Any composite structure made from diverse elements.

Adjective (1)

mosaic (not comparable)

  1. Containing cells of varying genetic constitution.

Verb

mosaic (third-person singular simple present mosaics, present participle mosaicking or mosaicing, simple past and past participle mosaicked or mosaiced)

  1. (transitive) To arrange in a mosaic.
    • Featheredging is a process in preparing the photographs for mosaicking and involves cutting, tearing, and sandpapering the back of the print along its edges in such a way that the edge of the print is thin and will make a smooth match with adjoining prints.1944, War Department Technical Manual, volume 5, number 240, page 60

Adjective (2) capitalized: Mosaic

Mosaic

  1. Pertaining to Moses, or the writings and traditions attributed to him.
    • Mosaic law
    • The Mosaic account of the creation, whether taken as divine authority, or merely historical, is full to this point, the unity or equality of man.1791, Thomas Paine, Rights of Man: Being an Answer to Mr. Burke’s Attack on the French Revolution, London: […] J. S. Jordan, […], →OCLC

mosaic meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

mosaic in Hindi

artwork
मौज़ेक mauzek

mosaic in Tamil

சித்திரவடிவு, பல் வண்ணம், பல்லடுக்கு, ஒளி மின்கூறு பட்டை, குட்டிமம், தமல்

mosaic in Urdu

موسوی

mosaic in Bengali

মোজাইক
More languagesFewer languages
mosaic in Malayalam
മാർബിൾ, സ്ഫിടകം മുതലായവ കൊണ്ടുളള അലങ്കാരപ്പണി, വിചിത്രപ്പണി
mosaic in Tagalog
mularan, mosaic
mosaic in Arabic
فُسَيْفِسَاء fusayfisāʔ
mosaic in Indonesian
mosaik
mosaic in Thai
โมเสก moo-sèek
mosaic in Vietnamese
tranh khảm, thể khảm, bệnh khảm

Examples of mosaic in a sentence

  • Decorative tilework typically takes the form of mosaic upon the walls, floor, or ceiling of a building.
  • One particular valuable is a gemstone mosaic.
  • A Florentine mosaic is a familiar instance of work in pietra dura, though the ground may be soft marble.

All 39 example sentences with mosaic

Forms of mosaic

Noun
pluralmosaics
alternative form (obsolete)mosaick
alternative form (archaic)musaic
Verb
third-person singular presentmosaics
present participlemosaicking
present participlemosaicing
past participlemosaicked
pastmosaicked
past participlemosaiced
pastmosaiced

Plural of mosaic: mosaics

Origin of mosaic

From Middle French mosaïque, from Italian mosaico, from Medieval Latin musaicum, from Late Latin musivum (opus), from Latin museum, musaeum, probably from Ancient Greek Μουσεῖον (Mouseîon), shrine of the Muses (Μοῦσα (Moûsa)). Doublet of museum.

From Middle French mosaïque, moysaique, and its source, post-classical Latin Mosaicus (5th century), from Latin Moses, ultimately from Biblical Hebrew מֹשֶׁה (mōšê).

Words formed from mosaic

Phrases with mosaic

Words that rhyme with mosaic

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about mosaic

What does mosaic mean?
Mosaic means a piece of artwork created by placing colored pieces (usually tiles, either regular or irregular in shape) in a pattern so as to create a picture.
What is mosaic in Hindi?
Mosaic in Hindi is मौज़ेक (mauzek). See Mosaic meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is mosaic?
Mosaic can be a noun, an adjective or a verb.
How do you pronounce mosaic?
Mosaic is pronounced /məʊˈzeɪk/ (UK).
What is the plural of mosaic?
The plural of mosaic is mosaics.

Words near mosaic in the dictionary

  1. Morărești
  2. mos
  3. mos'
  4. mos.
  5. Mosaddegh
  6. mosaic
  7. Mosaic covenant
  8. mosaic gold
  9. mosaic gulper shark
  10. mosaic gulper sharks
  11. mosaic plagiarism

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: mosaic (page history and authors); Mosaic (page history and authors); mosaic (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); Mosaic (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); mosaic (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); mosaic (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-mosaic.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-mosaic.wav.

Cite this entry: “mosaic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/mosaic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.