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Showing results for carpenter. Search instead for carpenters.
Synonyms

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

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

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A friend recommended a carpenter, who helped with the termites and trickier renovations.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026

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

From Salon • Feb. 20, 2026

He credits training as a carpenter with "shaping him", and has previously spent his summers working on construction sites.

From BBC • Feb. 7, 2026

Donaldson, 60, was born in Santa Monica and came up through the construction ranks as a carpenter.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 22, 2026

“I am my own engineer, and my own carpenter, and my own plumber, and my own gardener, and my own Jack of all Trades,” said Wemmick, in acknowledging my compliments.

From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

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.