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

The wide spread may have been a lingering artifact of the Eurozone debt crisis that followed the financial crisis, but either way, it has started to widen.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

AI is a human artifact, engineered for profit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

He was the genuine artifact, the son of an impoverished Minnesota miner; a lumberjack and a steelworker in his youth.

From Slate ● Sep. 18, 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

A few months after we’d all cleared the First Gate, an anonymous avatar had placed an ultrapowerful artifact up for auction.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Beachcombers scooped up artifacts including beer cans from the early 20th century.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

Using geometric and statistical techniques that had not previously been applied to these artifacts, the team reconstructed the directions, angles, and paths of the engraved lines.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026

"Israel feels responsible to look after the archaeology, the artifacts, the history of this land," he says.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

The chance discovery led to one of the greatest archaeological finds in modern history, and the artifacts from Sanxingdui stirred questions that still perplex experts four decades later.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

Gardullo emphasizes that it’s the sand that has protected the artifacts “‘that would have otherwise been lost to history.’”

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

Related Words

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