artifact

American  

[ahr-tuh-fakt] / ˈɑr təˌfækt /

especially British, artefact

noun

• artifacts
  plural

1. any object made by human beings, especially with a view to subsequent use.

2. a handmade object, as a tool, or the remains of one, as a shard of pottery, characteristic of an earlier time or cultural stage, especially such an object found at an archaeological excavation.

3. any mass-produced, usually inexpensive object reflecting contemporary society or popular culture.

   artifacts of the pop rock generation.

4. a substance or structure not naturally present in the matter being observed but formed by artificial means, as during preparation of a microscope slide.

5. a spurious observation or result arising from preparatory or investigative procedures.

6. any feature that is not naturally present but is a product of an extrinsic agent, method, or the like.

   statistical artifacts that make the inflation rate seem greater than it is.

7. Digital Technology. a visible or audible anomaly introduced in the processing or transmission of digital data: Ghosting artifacts in an MRI are usually the result of patient movement during a scan.

   Your computer might need a new graphics card if you see green pixels where you should not, or other graphics artifacts.

   Ghosting artifacts in an MRI are usually the result of patient movement during a scan.

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verb (used with object)

1. Digital Technology. to introduce a visible or audible anomaly in (an image or audio file) during the processing or transmission of digital data: The video appears to be heavily artifacted.

   Compression may artifact your recording with clicking or echoing sounds.

   The video appears to be heavily artifacted.

artifact British  

/ ˈɑːtɪˌfækt /

noun

1. a variant spelling of artefact

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artifact Scientific  

/ är′tə-făkt′ /

1. An object produced or shaped by human craft, especially a tool, weapon, or ornament of archaeological or historical interest.

2. An artificial product or effect observed in a natural system, especially one introduced by the technology used in scientific investigation or by experimental error.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• artifactual
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• artifacts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of artifact

First recorded in 1815–25; variant of artefact (a spelling first recorded in 1625–50 ) from Latin phrase arte factum “(something) made with skill.” See art ¹, fact

Explanation

An artifact is a man-made object that has some kind of cultural significance. If you find a 12th-century vase, it's an artifact of that time. Don't drop it! Artifact is a combination of two Latin words, arte, meaning "by skill" and factum which means "to make." Usually when you use the word artifact, you are describing something crafted that was used for a particular purpose during a much earlier time.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

artifact artifacts

In retrospect, it is a vivid artifact of fast food learning it could be much more than food.

From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026

The workplace at the center of “Dig” is an excavation site in Greece, where Poehler’s Elise is among a team of archaeologists that unearths a rare artifact.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

And while the Labor Department has registered a productivity pickup in recent years, Barclays economists argue that this is probably just an artifact of the whipsawing of the labor market following the Covid-19 shock.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

Researchers from UCL and the Natural History Museum, London analyzed the rare artifact, which offers a striking look at the intelligence and technical abilities of early human ancestors.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026

No artifact of human technology, not even our radio transmissions, has had time, even traveling at the speed of light, to go 200 light-years.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

The National Museum alone lost almost two-thirds of its inventory, comprising nearly 100,000 artifacts that covered Sudan’s prehistoric age through its Nubian era, the Kingdom of Kush, the Christian era and its Islamic period.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

The Templo Mayor Museum, which displays artifacts found at the site, reveals their genius for engineering, herbal medicine and astronomy, as well as their artistic skills, including stone sculptures, exquisite ceramics and delicate jewelry.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Mission San Francisco de Potano was abandoned in 1706, and physical traces of the settlement gradually disappeared from view until artifacts began to turn up in the 1950s.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026

The ancient Sanxingdui site in China continues to puzzle experts with its ornate artifacts and lack of written records or human remains.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

Charred and senseless artifacts strewn down the shoreline or rolling in the surf.

From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy

Related Words

• amount
• brand
• commodity
• crop
• device
• fruit
• merchandise
• output
• produce
• production
• profit
• stock
• work