blacksmith

American  

[blak-smith] / ˈblækˌsmɪθ /

noun

blacksmiths plural

1. a person who makes horseshoes and shoes horses.

2. a person who forges objects of iron.

3. a blackish damselfish, Chromis punctipinnis, inhabiting coastal waters off southern California.

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blacksmith British  

/ ˈblækˌsmɪθ /

noun

1. an artisan who works iron with a furnace, anvil, hammer, etc

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• blacksmiths
  plural

Etymology

Origin of blacksmith

1250–1300; Middle English; see black (in reference to iron or black metal), smith ( def. ); cf. whitesmith

Explanation

A blacksmith is someone who makes tools and other objects out of metal. Working as a blacksmith involves heating metal then bending and hammering it into the desired shape. Blacksmiths mainly work with iron and steel, heating it until it's soft enough to bend, fold, and shape using tools. A blacksmith can make things like wrought iron fences and gates, knives and other cooking utensils, and metal light fixtures. While today many metal items once made by blacksmiths are mass produced in factories, there's a renewed interest in learning to make metal objects by hand.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

blacksmith blacksmiths

In Pompeii, there are Avianius, a teenager apprenticed to a blacksmith, and Julia Felix, a rare female businesswoman who runs a kind of spa cum entertainment center for the well-to-do.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

After some trial and error, he and a local blacksmith retrofitted a hand-cranked coffee mill so that it could efficiently twist wire into uniform barbs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026

Radhwan, a 70-year-old blacksmith, felt a bullet or a piece of debris — he couldn’t tell — graze his upper lip.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2025

The North York Moors Ranger Service said it had worked with a blacksmith to create the viewing platform overlooking the landmark.

From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2025

Working as a blacksmith, Isaac paid taxes and, according to tax records, even hired enslaved helpers to work in his shop.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

Metals get softer when they are heated, which is how blacksmiths can form iron into complex shapes by heating it red hot.

From Science Daily ● May 22, 2024

In Denny’s telling, dreams of wizards and blacksmiths, dark forests and dank castles shape the newest digital realms.

From New York Times ● Mar. 6, 2024

Some blacksmiths are “Game of Thrones” or “Lord of the Rings” die-hards who want to bring imaginary worlds to life.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 25, 2023

They were doctors, lawyers, politicians, scientists, teachers, politicians, engineers, blacksmiths, generals, soldiers, artists, poets, writers, artisans, farmers, explorers, businesspeople, philosophers, and people from a range of other backgrounds.

From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2023

‘It sounds like a hundred blacksmiths all smithying together,’ said Sam to Frodo.

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien