carve
Americanverb (used with object)
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carves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
carved,
past participle, past
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carving
present participle
-
to cut (a solid material) so as to form something.
to carve a piece of pine.
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to form from a solid material by cutting.
to carve a statue out of stone.
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to cut into slices or pieces, as a roast of meat.
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to decorate with designs or figures cut on the surface.
The top of the box was beautifully carved with figures of lions and unicorns.
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to cut (a design, figures, etc.) on a surface.
Figures of lions and unicorns were carved on the top of the box.
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to make or create for oneself (often followed byout ).
He carved out a career in business.
verb (used without object)
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carves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
carved,
past participle, past
-
carving
present participle
-
to carve figures, designs, etc.
-
to cut meat.
verb
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(tr) to cut or chip in order to form something
to carve wood
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to decorate or form (something) by cutting or chipping
to carve statues
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to slice (meat) into pieces
to carve a turkey
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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carvernoun
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recarveverb
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undercarveverb (used with object)
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semicarvedadjective
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uncarvedadjective
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well-carvedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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carvesimple
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carvessimple
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have carvedperfect
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has carvedperfect
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am carvingprogressive
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are carvingprogressive
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is carvingprogressive
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have been carvingperfect progressive
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has been carvingperfect progressive
Past
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carvedsimple
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had carvedperfect
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was carvingprogressive
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were carvingprogressive
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had been carvingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of carve
before 1000; Middle English kerven, Old English ceorfan to cut; cognate with Middle Low German kerven, German kerben, Greek gráphein to mark, write; see graph
Explanation
When you cut a design into a piece of wood or marble, you carve it. Headstone engravers carve people's names and the dates of their births and deaths into gravestones. You might carve your initials into the tree in your backyard, or carve a walking stick out of a large branch. Some artists work by carving shapes from clay or granite, and a chef learns to carve, or precisely cut up, large cuts of meat and poultry. The Old English root word is ceorfan, "to cut, slay, carve, or engrave."
Vocabulary lists containing carve
On a Pedestal: Marble-ous Words for Sculpture
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"The Secret Water"
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"Indian Summer Sun" and "Almost Evenly Divided"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In fact, he didn’t carve out a single break point until the match was more than two hours deep.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Andrew Jackson once threw a party at the White House, and 10,000 Washington residents showed up to help themselves to whatever they could carve from a 1,000-pound block of cheddar cheese.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
Sulloway’s research on birth order and risk-taking reveals that later-borns are more psychologically wired to take strategic risks to carve out their own niche and stand out in the family.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
The new prime minister, meanwhile, wants to carve out clear routes into technical jobs that can rival the well-established path of A-levels and a university degree.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Jennifer is determined to carve her into the perfect-little-girl who will turn into the perfect-young-lady whose shining accomplishments will prove to the world that Jennifer is the absolutely perfect mother.
From "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson
A real plan carves out a protected reserve for that upfront, so the late-life risk is handled and the earlier spending is guilt-free.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026
His approach to Greenland isn’t mine but when he questions Danish sovereignty he carves into the real issue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
Rather than walk in the footsteps of its predecessors, Lux carves its own, unique path - harnessing Rosalía's classical training at the prestigious Catalonia College of Music.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2025
But given that virtually every hospital deals with unnamed patients, California carves out an exception for unidentified people who can’t make their own healthcare decisions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2025
“I made it. My grampa carves them, and I paint them. He was a pretty famous angler. People around here call him Kingfish. I’d love a nickname like that.”
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
The real star was Serling, “the ominous, otherworldly narrator and host” with jet-black hair and “cheekbones that looked carved from granite.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Speakers at the event included local, state and federal officials, many of whom described an eagle who inspired conservation and carved out an enduring legacy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
"This man here is carved in stone and every time he gets cracked on the jaw, he falls over," Fury said.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Rising diesel prices have carved Goebbert’s margins, but he hasn’t raised prices; his in-state distribution network doesn’t require as much driving as farms with customers across state lines.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
Mr. Shareef’s initials were carved into the bark, at the bottom of a long list of initials.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
Before carving out a career in sports broadcasting and voice acting, Horton was just a teenaged high school basketball reject.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
In Kanazawa, workers dressed in full-body overalls haul large blocks of ice across the factory floor, before starting on the delicate work of carving perfect spheres, cubes and rectangular blocks with cut corners.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
The satellite image shows an enormous chunk of the glacier has fallen away, carving an enormous path of rock and debris where water rushed through the valley.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
Milling requires carving the restoration from a solid block of zirconia.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
Uncle Alf held out his fist and opened his fingers to reveal an unfinished carving of a baby.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
