carve
Americanverb (used with object)
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carves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
carved,
past participle, past
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carving
present participle
-
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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carves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
carved,
past participle, past
-
carving
present participle
-
to carve figures, designs, etc.
-
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
Derived Forms
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carvernoun
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recarveverb
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undercarveverb (used with object)
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semicarvedadjective
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uncarvedadjective
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well-carvedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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carvesimple
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carvessimple
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have carvedperfect
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has carvedperfect
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am carvingprogressive
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are carvingprogressive
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is carvingprogressive
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have been carvingperfect progressive
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has been carvingperfect progressive
Past
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carvedsimple
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had carvedperfect
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was carvingprogressive
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were carvingprogressive
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had been carvingperfect progressive
Future
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; see graph
Explanation
When you cut a design into a piece of wood or marble, you carve it. Headstone engravers carve people's names and the dates of their births and deaths into gravestones. You might carve your initials into the tree in your backyard, or carve a walking stick out of a large branch. Some artists work by carving shapes from clay or granite, and a chef learns to carve, or precisely cut up, large cuts of meat and poultry. The Old English root word is ceorfan, "to cut, slay, carve, or engrave."
Vocabulary lists containing carve
On a Pedestal: Marble-ous Words for Sculpture
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"The Secret Water"
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"Indian Summer Sun" and "Almost Evenly Divided"
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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.
See Examples For:
He still tries to carve out time on Saturdays to watch his alma mater Penn State and now Virginia Tech, where his former college teammate is now the offensive coordinator.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Andrew Jackson once threw a party at the White House, and 10,000 Washington residents showed up to help themselves to whatever they could carve from a 1,000-pound block of cheddar cheese.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
State lawmakers routinely carve out environmental exemptions for proposed sports stadiums, sometimes in the closing days of the legislative session.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026
Iceland's government intends to carve out a "special arrangement" to protect fishing and agriculture, and the finance minister says they are confident of getting "some exemptions".
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
What kind of a man, Violet wondered, would carve an image of an eye into his front door?
From "The Bad Beginning" by Lemony Snicket
A real plan carves out a protected reserve for that upfront, so the late-life risk is handled and the earlier spending is guilt-free.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026
The measure carves out the more volatile government, inventory and international trade data.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
Here it pushes and carves through a canyon of mud walls that resemble the color of a wasp’s nest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2026
Rather than walk in the footsteps of its predecessors, Lux carves its own, unique path - harnessing Rosalía's classical training at the prestigious Catalonia College of Music.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2025
A master engraver expertly carves his designs onto a polished copper plate using an engraving tool called a burin.
From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman
It has carved out a niche as a model-agnostic software company, MarketWatch reports.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
Speakers at the event included local, state and federal officials, many of whom described an eagle who inspired conservation and carved out an enduring legacy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
Newcastle carved through Leicester with just under seven minutes left when Ollie Leatherbarrow's bold carry saw him break a tackle as Cameron Jordan went over with Zack Henry adding the extras.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
Rising diesel prices have carved Goebbert’s margins, but he hasn’t raised prices; his in-state distribution network doesn’t require as much driving as farms with customers across state lines.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
So they carved the obelisk in ancient Egypt.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
At its height, 10 million workers were on the streets before fresh elections led to the revolt fizzling out, but not before carving an indelible memory in French social history.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Before carving out a career in sports broadcasting and voice acting, Horton was just a teenaged high school basketball reject.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Instead of building obvious nests, they can spend nearly their entire lives hidden inside beams, framing, furniture, and other dry wood, slowly carving out galleries as a colony grows.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
Twenty years ago, the hot topics were a smoking ban and carving out space for traditional Bavarian music.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
At the moment, there were seven other Elders focused on prep work—dicing vegetables for stew, carving meat off carcasses.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
