carpenter

¹ American  

[kahr-puhn-ter] / ˈkɑr pən tər /

noun

1. a person who builds or repairs wooden structures, as houses, scaffolds, or shelving.

---

verb (used without object)

1. to do carpenter's work.

verb (used with object)

1. to make by carpentry.

2. to construct (a plot, scene, article, or the like) in a mechanical or unoriginal fashion.

Carpenter ² American  

[kahr-puhn-ter] / ˈkɑr pən tər /

noun

1. John Alden, 1876–1951, U.S. composer.

2. (Malcolm) Scott, 1925–2013, U.S. astronaut and oceanographer.

---

carpenter ¹ British  

/ ˈkɑːpɪntə /

noun

1. a person skilled in woodwork, esp in buildings, ships, etc

---

verb

1. (intr) to do the work of a carpenter

2. (tr) to make or fit together by or as if by carpentry

Carpenter ² British  

/ ˈkɑːpɪntə /

noun

1. John Alden. 1876–1951, US composer, who used jazz rhythms in orchestral music: his works include the ballet Skyscrapers (1926) and the orchestral suite Adventures in a Perambulator (1915)

---

Other Word Forms

• uncarpentered adjective

Etymology

Origin of carpenter

1275–1325; Middle English < Anglo-French < Late Latin carpentārius wainwright, equivalent to Latin carpent ( um ) two-wheeled carriage (< Celtic; compare Old Irish carpad chariot) + -ārius -ary; -er ²

Example Sentences

My father, Bruce, worked in construction as a carpenter.

From The Wall Street Journal

Frank Dario Manfuga, a musician from Cuba, says it was an ad on Facebook recruiting for carpenters in Russia that led him to board a plane in January bound for Moscow.

From The Wall Street Journal

In 1831-33, New York ship carpenters won the first major American victory in reducing work hours.

From The Wall Street Journal

She previously told Drew Barrymore, “I left ‘SNL’ and then the next day I was like, ‘I’m a farmer, I’m a carpenter.’

From MarketWatch

She told the judge the tenant, a carpenter, had offered to repair the windows of the property in lieu of rent.

From BBC

Related Words

• artisan
• builder
• cabinetmaker
• laborer
• woodworker
• worker