terracotta

or ter·ra-cot·ta ,

ter·ra cot·ta

[ ter-uh-kot-uh ]
See synonyms for terracotta on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a hard, fired clay, brownish-red in color when unglazed, that is used for architectural ornaments and facings, structural units, pottery, and as a material for sculpture.

  2. something made of terracotta.

  1. a brownish-orange color like that of unglazed terracotta.

adjective
  1. made of or having the color of terracotta.

Origin of terracotta

1
First recorded in 1715–25; from Italian: literally, “baked earth, cooked earth,” from Latin terra cocta; see origin at thirsty, cook1

Words Nearby terracotta

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use terracotta in a sentence

  • The terracotta panels along the entrance front, over the principal floor windows, were designed by Mr. Boehm himself.

  • Originally it had been a villa residence—a red-brick villa, covered with creepers and crowned with terracotta dragons.

    The Longest Journey | E. M. Forster
  • I must not omit to mention that the small red shafts in the arcade below the belfry seem to be made of terracotta.

  • There are long and short ones, high and low ones, all pierced with little windows that are closed with a terracotta shutter.

    The Life of the Fly | J. Henri Fabre
  • The most remarkable feature of these oldest ruins is the superiority of the terracotta articles.

British Dictionary definitions for terracotta

terracotta

/ (ˌtɛrəˈkɒtə) /


noun
  1. a hard unglazed brownish-red earthenware, or the clay from which it is made

  2. something made of terracotta, such as a sculpture

  1. a strong reddish-brown to brownish-orange colour

adjective
  1. made of terracotta: a terracotta urn

  2. of the colour terracotta: a terracotta carpet

Origin of terracotta

1
C18: from Italian, literally: baked earth

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012