weaver
noun
a person who weaves.
weaver
1 American
[wee-ver]
/ ˈwi vər /
Weaver
2
American
[wee-ver]
/ ˈwi vər /
noun
-
James Baird, 1833–1912, U.S. politician: congressman 1879–81, 1885–89.
-
Robert Clifton, 1907–97, U.S. economist and government official: first Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 1966–68.
weaver
British
/ ˈwiːvə /
noun
-
a person who weaves, esp as a means of livelihood
-
short for weaverbird
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of weaver
First recorded in 1325–75, weaver is from the Middle English word wevere. See weave, -er 1
Explanation
A person who makes fabric by weaving fiber together is a weaver. Most weavers use a loom, a device that holds the threads tightly as they're being woven. A craft weaver works by hand, weaving without a loom, but most weavers use either a hand loom or a power loom. This more mechanized type of loom was invented in the 1780s, and it made the work less physically taxing for weavers. The Proto-Indo-European root of weaver is also the source of the Sanskrit word ubhnati, "he laces together" and the Greek word hyphe, or "web."
Vocabulary lists containing weaver
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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:
Researchers from several South American institutions have identified a new species of crevice weaver spider, expanding what scientists know about the Pikelinia genus.
From Science Daily ● May 1, 2026
Shadrack Yao Agboli, a fugu weaver who also works with the National Commission on Culture, has a home workshop where long bands of hand-loomed fabric hang to dry in the afternoon sun.
From Barron's ● Feb. 13, 2026
A tour of East Coast craft-making wouldn’t be complete without a trip to a weaver, though Helena Hernmarck of Ridgefield, Conn., is more of a “tapestry artist.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025
As a former production weaver who churned out a line of unisex sweaters she sold through the American Craft Council, Schwartzenberger understands the meditative qualities of weaving.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2025
Long ago, Athena had taught the mortal weaver Arachne a hard lesson—cursing her for her pride by turning her into the first spider.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
“All this hype for PLFs I think has the potential to hook casual and infrequent cinemagoers into becoming lovers and enthusiasts of cinema,” Weaver said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
“A lot of these perks are excessive,” said Rosanna Weaver, an executive-pay consultant for the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Emily Weaver Rhodes, SWA deputy director, told BBC Radio Scotland that the removal of tariffs showed the positive relationship between the US and UK.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
"This is worse than a Jackie Weaver moment and the council is lucky the whole ordeal was not live-streamed," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
But I did not expect his answer: “The Weaver will refuse it. Unanswerable questions have wrecked Foretelling groups.”
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
The loom put weavers out of work, he added, but it raised living standards for everyone who came after.
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
Because “the demand for woven cloth could fluctuate wildly,” she writes, “as quickly as weavers remembered the good wages, memories of periods of acute hardship came flooding back.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025
Through November, the museum features an open-air spider pavilion, a ticketed exhibit that allows visitors to walk amid hundreds of spiders known as orb weavers and their intricate webs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2025
Recognition is increasing - not only of the Wayuu bags - but of the indigenous group and the weavers themselves.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2025
She remembered the derisive voice of one of the weavers only a few days before.
From "Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
