artisan
Americannoun
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a person skilled in a utilitarian art, trade, or craft, especially one requiring manual skill; a craftsperson.
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a person or company that makes a high-quality or distinctive product in small quantities, usually by hand or using traditional methods.
our favorite local food artisans.
adjective
noun
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a skilled workman; craftsman
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obsolete an artist
Related Words
See artist.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of artisan
First recorded in 1530–40; from French, from Italian artigiano, equivalent to Latin artīt(us) “trained in arts and crafts” (past participle of artīre ) + Italian -iano (from Latin -iānus ); see art 1, -ite 2, -ian
Compare meaning
How does artisan compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
An artisan has both the creativity and the skill to make a product. Wandering around a local craft fair, you will often see artisans selling handicrafts like pot holders or beaded jewelry. In medieval times, blacksmiths, carpenters, and masons were artisan trades. Unskilled laborers were not. The hierarchy of skill and prestige among artisans, from apprentice to journeyman to master, is sometimes reflected in ranks among today’s trade union members. But today an artisan can just be someone who makes attractive and creative work with their hands, like jewelry or pottery. Although, if they're trying to sell their goods, it probably helps if they're very skilled.
Vocabulary lists containing artisan
Mesopotamia - Introductory
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Ancient Egypt and Kush, Lessons 1–3
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Medieval Europe - Introductory
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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.
Three Iranian men pressed rehydrated raisins at an artisan distillery just outside New York, thousands of miles from their war-struck homeland.
From Barron's • May 2, 2026
He talks about a trip he took one summer to the French Alps doing research with artisan cheese makers.
From Salon • Apr. 25, 2026
Her future as an artisan was a foregone conclusion.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 30, 2025
Among his AI-powered discoveries: scissors from an artisan manufacturer in England and pottery from Indonesia, a birthday gift for his mother last summer.
From BBC • Dec. 9, 2025
Farmer, goatherd, cattleherd, hunter or artisan, the landsman looks at the ocean as at a salt unsteady realm that has nothing to do with him at all.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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.
