craftsman
Americannoun
-
craftsmen
plural
-
a person who practices or is highly skilled in a craft; artisan.
- Synonyms:
- handicraftsman, artificer
-
an artist.
noun
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a member of a skilled trade; someone who practises a craft; artisan
-
Also called: craftswoman. an artist skilled in the techniques of an art or craft
Gender
Is craftsman gender-neutral? See -man.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of craftsman
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English craftes man “man of skill,” earlier craftman; compare Old English cræftiga “craftsman, workman” (derivative of cræftig “skilled”; see crafty)
Compare meaning
How does craftsman compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Vocabulary lists containing craftsman
History of India - Introductory
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African History - Introductory
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History of India - Middle School and High School
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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 smooths the features of the head -- which he says weighs more than a ton -- with a yellow sponge, while another craftsman adds clay to the fingers of the enormous hands.
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026
Everywhere you look will be an homage to the craftsman style that’s such a part of Pasadena’s history.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026
The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland has awarded £2,779 to master craftsman Thomas Keyes to conduct an experimental archaeology project later this year.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
Patterson, who died in 1972, hailed from the same region of Washington as Evans; the documentarian discovered that the hardscrabble cowboy had also been a gifted craftsman and artist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
He was a fine craftsman to the tips of his fingers—even to the tips of his maimed hand.
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
All these tasks required master craftsmen, masons, architects and artists.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Griffith Park’s carousel is especially unique in that it also has horses from master carvers Charles Looff and Charles Carmel, considered the finest carousel craftsmen of the era.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
In the historic Japanese city of Kanazawa, craftsmen painstakingly shape and slice blocks of ice destined to chill negronis in some of the world's trendiest bars.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
Montblanc’s craftsmen are rigorously trained; for example, learning how to grind a gold nib takes over six months.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
Gebu was in and out of the shop all day, usually remaining for several hours in either the morning or the afternoon, personally overseeing or working alongside his craftsmen.
From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
