mosaic

UK: 'mosaic', 'Mosaic': /məʊˈzeɪɪk/

US: /moʊˈzeɪɪk/

US: (mō zā′ik)

Inflections of 'mosaic' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

mosaics

v 3rd person singular

mosaicking

v pres p

mosaicked

v past

mosaicked

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

mo•sa•ic /moʊˈzeɪɪk/   n. 

1. Fine Art a picture made of small colored pieces of stone, etc., fitted together in a flat surface:
   [countable] a hand-made mosaic.
2. Fine Art [uncountable] the process of producing such a decoration.
3. something resembling a mosaic, esp. in being made up of many distinct, different elements:
   [countable] The city has become a cultural mosaic.

adj. [before a noun]

4. Fine Art of or relating to a mosaic or mosaic work:
   a mosaic tile.
5. made up of a combination of diverse elements.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

mo•sa•ic  (mō zā′ik), n., adj., v., -icked, -ick•ing. 
n. 

1. Fine Art a picture or decoration made of small, usually colored pieces of inlaid stone, glass, etc.
2. Fine Art the process of producing such a picture or decoration.
3. something resembling such a picture or decoration in composition, esp. in being made up of diverse elements:
   a mosaic of borrowed ideas.
4. Surveying Also called aerial mosaic, photomosaic. an assembly of aerial photographs matched in such a way as to show a continuous photographic representation of an area (mosaic map). 
5. Architecture (in an architectural plan) a system of patterns for differentiating the areas of a building or the like, sometimes consisting of purely arbitrary patterns used to separate areas according to function but often consisting of plans of flooring, reflected ceiling plans, overhead views of furnishings and equipment, or other items really included in the building or building plan.
6. Plant Diseases Also called mosa′ic disease′. any of several diseases of plants, characterized by mottled green or green and yellow areas on the leaves, caused by certain viruses.
7. Developmental Biology [Biol.] an organism exhibiting mosaicism.
8. Radio and Television [Television.] a light-sensitive surface in a television camera tube, consisting of a thin mica sheet coated on one side with a large number of small globules of silver and cesium insulated from each other. The image to be televised is focused on this surface and the resulting charges on the globules are scanned by an electron beam.

adj. 

9. Fine Art pertaining to, resembling, or used for making a mosaic or mosaic work:
   a mosaic tile.
10. composed of a combination of diverse elements.

v.t. 

11. Fine Art to make a mosaic of or from.
12. Fine Art to decorate with mosaic.

• Medieval Latin musaicum, re-formation of Late Latin musīvum (opus), Latin musēum, musaeum mosaic work (quantity of u uncertain), of obscure origin, originally; variants may show an assumed relationship with Greek mouseîon shrine of the Muses, museum, by analogy with archī(v)um (see archive), though classical Greek word is not attested in sense "mosaic''
• Italian mosaico
• Middle French mosaïque
• Middle English 1350–1400

mo•sa′i•cal•ly, adv. 

Mo•sa•ic  (mō zā′ik), adj. 

1. Judaism of or pertaining to Moses or the writings, laws, and principles attributed to him:
   Mosaic ethics.

Also, Mo•sa′i•cal. 

• Neo-Latin Mosaicus, equivalent. to Late Latin Mōs(ēs) Moses + -aicus, on the model of Hebraicus Hebraic
• 1655–65

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

mosaic / məˈzeɪɪk/ noun

1. a design or decoration made up of small pieces of coloured glass, stone, etc
2. the process of making a mosaic
3. a mottled yellowing that occurs in the leaves of plants affected with any of various virus diseases
4. Also called: mosaic disease any of the diseases, such as tobacco mosaic, that produce this discoloration
5. another name for chimera4
6. an assembly of aerial photographs forming a composite picture of a large area on the ground

Etymology: 16th Century: via French and Italian from Medieval Latin mōsaicus, from Late Greek mouseion mosaic work, from Greek mouseios of the Muses, from mousa Muse

mosaicist / məˈzeɪɪsɪst/ noun

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Mosaic / məʊˈzeɪɪk/, Mosaical adjective

1. of or relating to Moses or the laws and traditions ascribed to him