the quality, production, expression, or realm of things that conform to accepted aesthetic principles of beauty, show imagination and skill, and have more than ordinary meaning and importance.
Art is a characteristic human activity.
My parents and I disagree about what qualifies as art.
the class of objects that meet or are subject to aesthetic criteria; objects considered beautiful, imaginative, skillful, and meaningful collectively, such as paintings, sculptures, or drawings.
The palace houses a remarkable collection of art.
The local museum of art currently has a special exhibit of the works of Kurelek.
the visual or fine arts collectively, often excluding architecture.
She dabbled in art, including painting and sculpture.
the arts, the fine arts together with literature and the performing arts.
I attended a high school that emphasized the arts, and I took every drama course I could.
There never seems to be enough public funding for the arts.
a field, genre, or category of creative, imaginative, skilled activity that meets or is subject to aesthetic criteria.
Poetry and dance are arts.
any craft or field of creative activity applying aesthetic principles, skill, and technique.
She does graphic art for an advertising company.
arts,
the cluster of academic disciplines dealing with art, literature, languages, philosophy, etc., as distinct from the natural and social sciences and the technical or professional fields; the humanities.
He teaches in the College of Arts and Sciences.
There are fewer opportunities these days for graduates with a degree in arts.
the humanities together with the natural and social sciences, as opposed to the professional and technical fields; liberal arts.
Are you at the Faculty of Arts, or at one of the professional faculties?
a branch of learning or university study, especially one of the fine arts or the humanities, such as music, philosophy, or literature.
We attended a brilliant lecture on the role of the arts of philosophy and rhetoric in expanding knowledge.
the principles, techniques, or methods governing any craft, trade, or profession.
the art of baking;
the art of selling.
the craft, trade, or profession using these principles, techniques, or methods.
skill in conducting any human activity.
You are a master at the art of conversation!
From my mother, I learned the art of making perfectly cooked pasta.
skilled workmanship, execution, or agency, as distinguished from nature.
Do these shrubs in your garden owe their shape to art or to nature?
(in printed matter) illustrative or decorative material.
Is there any art with the copy for this story?
trickery or cunning, or an instance of this.
Don’t be taken in by their devious art.
She is adept at the innumerable arts and wiles of politics.
pretense or artificiality in behavior.
He had a manner free of art and affectation.
Archaic. science, learning, or scholarship.
article; articles.
artificial.
artillery.
artist.
the creation of works of beauty or other special significance
( as modifier )
an art movement
the exercise of human skill (as distinguished from nature )
imaginative skill as applied to representations of the natural world or figments of the imagination
excellence or aesthetic merit of conception or execution as exemplified by such works
any branch of the visual arts, esp painting
(modifier) intended to be artistic or decorative
art needlework
any field using the techniques of art to display artistic qualities
advertising art
( as modifier )
an art film
journalism photographs or other illustrations in a newspaper, etc
method, facility, or knack
the art of threading a needle
the art of writing letters
the system of rules or principles governing a particular human activity
the art of government
artfulness; cunning
to become highly proficient at something through practice
What does -art mean? The combining form -art is a suffix denoting “someone who engages often in an activity,” and it is frequently pejorative. It is very rarely used in a handful of terms. The form -art comes from German -hard, meaning “strong; hardy; hard,” which is a cognate of English hard. What are variants of -art?In most instances, the form -art is spelled -ard, as in drunkard. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use article about -ard.
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin ars (stem art- ) “skill, craft, craftsmanship”
First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English eart, equivalent to ear- ( see are 1) + -t ending of 2nd person singular
Art is the expression of ideas and emotions through a physical medium, like painting, sculpture, film, dance, writing, photography, or theatre. If you love the creative process, maybe you'll devote your life to art. The definition of art is constantly changing and evolving to include different types of activity, and the question “What is art?” has been discussed for thousands of years. Some people believe that art is the attempt to create beautiful objects, while others call art all of the works that appear in a gallery or museum, whether beautiful or ugly. Art can also mean a specific skill you’ve learned, like the art of baking a delicious pie.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The house is on a hillside, and I have high ceilings and plenty of wall space for my art.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Part two of the novel shifts downtown, into the heart of the ’80s East Village art scene.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
He appreciates the scope of projects he’s done so far, from the massive scale of production on “House of the Dragon” to smaller art house films.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
He was awarded the Norwegian Rafto Prize for Human Rights in 2024 "for his fearless opposition to authoritarianism through art."
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
It makes me think they are in 3-D and will pop out of the art at any moment.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
A study conducted at Manchester Art Gallery found that visitors who discussed what they were seeing with others left feeling more positive, more connected and closer to the people they came with.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
After a visit to a Caspar David Friedrich exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she sent me a note.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
The 68 works — including 10 oil paintings by Kahlo — went on display at the Museum of Modern Art in February, the first public showing in Mexico in almost two decades.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
In addition to the International and Festival Fringe events, the Book Festival, Art Festival and Film Festival are all held in the city centre during August.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
“Let’s call it the Brown Art Challenge,” Dad says.
From "Watch Us Rise" by Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan
In contrast, animals that received only ART continued to show elevated levels of these harmful fatty acids.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 21, 2026
"For cancer, this message will stimulate the patient's ability to effectively fight tumours," Dimitri Szymczak, project manager of French research institute INSERM's ART lab in Orleans, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Nov. 20, 2025
The ART Act, she said, was introduced to stop commercial use of surrogacy, to regulate and supervise clinics, not to impinge upon personal freedoms of aggrieved parents.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2024
A tax filing for the fiscal year ending in December 2022 shows that ART received $226,500 from Step Up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2024
What will I do then, when all my hopes of making things better are in the same basket marked ART SCHOOL?
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
And he has lofty artistic ambitions in movies and beyond -art, philanthropy, music - and would like to work with directors like Gaspar Noe, Terrence Malick, Wes Anderson, the Coens and the Nolans.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 5, 2018
Here used in contempt, like many other words with the suffix -ard, or -art, as braggart, sluggard, etc.
From Milton's Comus by Bell, William
"Watching Federer is like looking at a work of art. It's elegance, he did everything magnificently. I became enchanted by him."
From Barron's ● Jan. 31, 2026
“Express your art. Know your history. Just use your God-given talent to express yourself,” he’d say.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2025
“Drew made event art. His posters made many of our movies into destinations,” director Steven Spielberg said in a statement, adding: “In his own invented style, nobody drew like Drew.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025
“I’m not sacrificing my relationship with my kids for art. I’m gonna make the best record I can make right now, and I’m still gonna make bedtime.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2025
“They're kind of laid-back about body art. I mean, I'm salutatorian, so I guess they figured I can't be a complete mess if I'm getting straight A's.”
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
But Marx, 61, a former Marine and expert in martial arts, is nothing if not swaggering.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026
According to the researchers, it is the first study to show arts engagement working at the epigenetic level.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
In the following years, that surprise broadened into a question: “What are so many dogs doing in the visual arts from the Holocene 12,000 years ago to the present?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
River inspired Arturo Gonzalez to found his arts education nonprofit that focuses on gang intervention among young people in East L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
There is a plethora of evidence regarding the critical role that the arts play in children’s lives and learning.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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.
