craft

[kraft, krahft]

noun

plural

crafts, craft 

1. an art, trade, or occupation requiring special skill, especially manual skill.

   the craft of a mason.

2. skill; dexterity.

   The silversmith worked with great craft.

   Synonyms: ability, talent

3. skill or ability used for bad purposes; cunning; deceit; guile.

   Synonyms: deception, deceitfulness, shrewdness, craftiness

4. the members of a trade or profession collectively; a guild.

5. a ship or other vessel.

6. a number of ships or other vessels taken as a whole.

   The craft were warned of possible heavy squalls.

7. aircraft collectively.

8. a single aircraft.

adjective

1. noting or relating to a food or other product made with special skill, especially manual skill.

   craft beer; craft coffee; a line of craft furniture.

verb (used with object)

1. to make or manufacture (an object or product) with skill and careful attention to detail.

craft

/ krɑːft /

noun

1. skill or ability, esp in handiwork

2. skill in deception and trickery; guile; cunning

3. an occupation or trade requiring special skill, esp manual dexterity

4. 1. the members of such a trade, regarded collectively

   2. ( as modifier )

      a craft guild

5. a single vessel, aircraft, or spacecraft

6. (functioning as plural) ships, boats, aircraft, or spacecraft collectively

verb

1. (tr) to make or fashion with skill, esp by hand

Other Word Forms

• craftless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of craft¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English cræft “strength, skill”; cognate with German Kraft, Dutch kracht, Old Norse kraptr

Word History and Origins

Origin of craft¹

Old English cræft skill, strength; related to Old Norse kraptr power, skill, Old High German kraft

Synonym Study

See cunning.

Example Sentences

To convey the meaning of Guac’s life, Oliver introduces his family members through a series of photo images he has crafted into artworks.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The owners, who also run a book and crafts shop, escorted me to my room in an annex made of wood, with clean lines that converged on large windows.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Last month, Gómora and allies returned to the Weltmuseum, this time to unveil a high-tech container crafted by a German vibration engineer.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

What’s left of it was led, at least for a while, by a 29-year-old White House appointee who helped craft Project 2025, the right-wing blueprint that broadly calls for the curtailment of civil rights enforcement.

Read more on Salon

“We’ve been able to kind of harness the power of AI and hopefully blend that with the craft of traditional storytelling and the traditional model.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• aircraft 
• airplane 
• barge 
• boat 
• plane 
• ship 
• spacecraft 
• vessel