craft
Americannoun
-
crafts,
plural
-
craft
plural
-
an art, trade, or occupation requiring special skill, especially manual skill.
the craft of a mason.
-
skill; dexterity.
The silversmith worked with great craft.
-
skill or ability used for bad purposes; cunning; deceit; guile.
- Synonyms:
- deception, deceitfulness, shrewdness, craftiness
-
the members of a trade or profession collectively; a guild.
-
a ship or other vessel.
-
a number of ships or other vessels taken as a whole.
The craft were warned of possible heavy squalls.
-
aircraft collectively.
-
a single aircraft.
adjective
verb (used with object)
-
crafts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
crafted,
past participle, past
-
crafting
present participle
noun
-
skill or ability, esp in handiwork
-
skill in deception and trickery; guile; cunning
-
an occupation or trade requiring special skill, esp manual dexterity
-
-
the members of such a trade, regarded collectively
-
( as modifier )
a craft guild
-
-
a single vessel, aircraft, or spacecraft
-
(functioning as plural) ships, boats, aircraft, or spacecraft collectively
verb
Synonym Usage
See cunning.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
craftsimple
-
craftssimple
-
have craftedperfect
-
has craftedperfect
-
am craftingprogressive
-
are craftingprogressive
-
is craftingprogressive
-
have been craftingperfect progressive
-
has been craftingperfect progressive
Past
-
craftedsimple
-
had craftedperfect
-
was craftingprogressive
-
were craftingprogressive
-
had been craftingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of craft
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English cræft “strength, skill”; cognate with German Kraft, Dutch kracht, Old Norse kraptr
Explanation
If someone practices a craft, it means that she knows how to make something with her hands, like wooden furniture or hand-knit socks. There are many different meanings of the word craft, but most of them involve skill, whether it's the craft of cheese making or crafting tiny dollhouse furniture or being crafty — good at fooling people. Another meaning of the noun craft is "vehicle," especially a boat or an airplane. The Old English root word, cræft, originally meant "power or physical strength."
Vocabulary lists containing craft
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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:
"If more young people had taken up this craft, they could have made a living from it."
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
As they craft, artisans chant aloud the design code handwritten on a strip of paper known as talim -- shorthand of ancient symbols for numbers and colours -- knotting the threads string by string.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
He wrote: "Thank you for the years, the stories, the lessons and the moments that made us fall in love with the craft."
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
He also helped craft social-studies curricula for the nation’s second-largest statewide public-school system, advises hundreds of state lawmakers, and helped the White House plan exhibits for America’s 250th anniversary.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
My sister walked us to the craft store and we bought square plastic grids and wrapped yarn around them.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
“Effects on crews, crafts, post-production personnel, vendors, and production-serving small businesses,” could also be substantial, the report said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
Here, “Tony” is in its element as Johnson crafts the intimidating yet irresistible camaraderie of a kitchen, and all of the misfits who work inside it.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
Lindsey Rae Thompson, who’s been looking for a job for several months, has been devoting at least an hour to each cover letter she crafts.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
What I receive most years are socks that say “#1 Dad,” last-minute arts and crafts, and the occasional grill gadget—a catalog essentially unchanged since 1965.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
Half the white stores depended on its patronage; Valentine residents filled the squares and Sunday markets to sell their crafts.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
That’s the perfect summation of the toothless film Johnson has crafted.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
Although Koepka rejoined the Tour this year through a special returning member program crafted for recent major champions who had left, he spent the year shut out from many of its biggest tournaments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
They are the product of a secretive and Jupiterian presidency that this Swiss lawyer has crafted for himself over a decade leading the world’s most popular sport.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
It's content-rich and a show that's crafted so carefully.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
With the help of some friends, she crafted a flyer, in English, Vietnamese, Arabic, and French, announcing soccer tryouts at the Clarkston Community Center.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
Speed may pay off more than crafting the perfect reply.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Sean “Jack” Murphy has been choreographing for “Bridgerton” since the beginning, crafting the physical vocabulary of the characters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
Artists spend months crafting these monuments that will burn to ash two nights from now.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
Emily Wilson, whose translation of Homer’s “The Odyssey” published in 2017 served as inspiration to Christopher Nolan when crafting his blockbuster adaptation of the nearly 2,800-year-old poem, has some thoughts on the film.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
I used to build for fun, for the sheer pleasure of crafting a miniature warehouse, office, palace, stable, restaurant out of rubble.
From "The Rock and the River" by Kekla Magoon
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.
