carpenter

¹ American  

[kahr-puhn-ter] / ˈkɑr pən tər /

noun

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

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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.

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carpenter ¹ British  

/ ˈkɑːpɪntə /

noun

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

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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)

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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

A memory is unlocked in a pair of slouchy carpenter pants and delicate stacks of golden jewelry, and the longing for home is temporarily satiated.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026

Sprague co-hosted “Run My Renovation” for the DIY Network and was a carpenter on “Trading Spaces.”

From Salon • Feb. 20, 2026

"We don't want to be invaded," the 70-year-old carpenter and former judge told AFP on Tuesday.

From Barron's • Jan. 20, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 16, 2025

Now when he couldn’t carpenter any more he had put a sign at the front of the house reading ‘Clocks and Watches Repaired Cheap.’

From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers

Related Words

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