carve
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cut (a solid material) so as to form something.
to carve a piece of pine.
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to form from a solid material by cutting.
to carve a statue out of stone.
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to cut into slices or pieces, as a roast of meat.
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to decorate with designs or figures cut on the surface.
The top of the box was beautifully carved with figures of lions and unicorns.
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to cut (a design, figures, etc.) on a surface.
Figures of lions and unicorns were carved on the top of the box.
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to make or create for oneself (often followed byout ).
He carved out a career in business.
verb (used without object)
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to carve figures, designs, etc.
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to cut meat.
verb
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(tr) to cut or chip in order to form something
to carve wood
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to decorate or form (something) by cutting or chipping
to carve statues
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to slice (meat) into pieces
to carve a turkey
Other Word Forms
- carver noun
- recarve verb
- semicarved adjective
- uncarved adjective
- undercarve verb (used with object)
- well-carved adjective
Etymology
Origin of carve
before 1000; Middle English kerven, Old English ceorfan to cut; cognate with Middle Low German kerven, German kerben, Greek gráphein to mark, write; graph
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.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente called the chants "intolerable" and said "violent people use football to carve out a space for themselves".
From BBC
Each species carved out its own ecological role despite living side by side.
From Science Daily
Andersen Group, a financial advisory services firm, started trading last December and has already carved out a proper base.
From Barron's
The hotel has also carved desert trails in its backyard, with plans to build an art park filled with installations.
From Los Angeles Times
At the moment, there were seven other Elders focused on prep work—dicing vegetables for stew, carving meat off carcasses.
From Literature
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.
