craft

[ kraft, krahft ]

noun

, plural crafts craft.

1. an art, trade, or occupation requiring special skill, especially manual skill:

   the craft of a mason.

2. skill; dexterity:

   The silversmith worked with great craft.

   Synonyms: ability, talent

3. skill or ability used for bad purposes; cunning; deceit; guile.

   Synonyms: deceitfulness, shrewdness, craftiness, deception

4. the members of a trade or profession collectively; a guild.
5. a ship or other vessel.
6. a number of ships or other vessels taken as a whole:

   The craft were warned of possible heavy squalls.

7. aircraft collectively.
8. a single aircraft.

adjective

1. noting or relating to a food or other product made with special skill, especially manual skill:

   craft beer; craft coffee; a line of craft furniture.

verb (used with object)

1. to make or manufacture (an object or product) with skill and careful attention to detail.

craft

/ krɑːft /

noun

1. skill or ability, esp in handiwork
2. skill in deception and trickery; guile; cunning
3. an occupation or trade requiring special skill, esp manual dexterity
4. 1. the members of such a trade, regarded collectively
   2. ( as modifier )

      a craft guild

5. a single vessel, aircraft, or spacecraft
6. functioning as plural ships, boats, aircraft, or spacecraft collectively

verb

1. tr to make or fashion with skill, esp by hand

Other Words From

• craftless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of craft¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English cræft “strength, skill”; cognate with German Kraft, Dutch kracht, Old Norse kraptr

Word History and Origins

Origin of craft¹

Old English cræft skill, strength; related to Old Norse kraptr power, skill, Old High German kraft

Synonym Study

See cunning.

Example Sentences

The Guildhall usually hosts craft fairs, weddings, and art exhibitions; all of life was here.

From BBC

King Charles visited the cathedral to see the restoration on a state visit to France last year, where he was shown the craft skills involved in the rebuilding of the site.

From BBC

In crafting the scene’s suspense, editor Joe Walker mapped out where the action and roar of the crowd would peak.

From Los Angeles Times

“It’s quite close in terms of the energy. It’s not crafted to a lens. The lenses all fit around the action.”

From Los Angeles Times

From there, they crafted a simple fix to Score Distillation, which enables the generation of sharp, high-quality 3D shapes that are closer in quality to the best model-generated 2D images.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• aircraft
• airplane
• barge
• boat
• plane
• ship
• spacecraft
• vessel