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
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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
-
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 said he wished to see "at least a carve out" for Ukraine to access the EU market.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
As drugmakers seek to carve out a piece of the massive weight-loss-drug market, more are studying whether adding an amylin drug to a GLP-1 could increase weight loss with fewer side effects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 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
The CPI and PPI might not carve a Fed rate hike in stone, but they could be the biggest building blocks.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
Other evidence, however, is necessary, for it is known that Michelangelo did not carve all the marble blocks which were quarried for him and which bore his mark.
From "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg
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 revival, directed by Cihan Sahin, who is also credited with the production and projection design, carves out pockets of visual poetry on the darkened stage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 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
Condé Nast, which owns the New Yorker, Vanity Fair and Bon Appétit, is embracing flashy events, paywalls and other revenue sources as it carves out a new model.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2025
While Mom carves the turkey, Dad dishes the carrots and corn and mashed potatoes and gravy into their respective bowls, and I fill the water glasses with ice cubes and water.
From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King
Microsoft has carved out a niche as a model-agnostic software company, meaning its software offerings work with offerings from various AI players.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
We should marvel at what our forefathers carved out of this countryside.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 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
He wanted to laugh because this, like all barber's basins, had been made with a half-moon carved out to fit comfortably against the curve of a man's neck.
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
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
Antonelli looked capable of winning any which way, but decided to stop for fresh tyres under a virtual safety car mid-race and narrowed a 15-second gap to nothing before carving past Russell.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
In Kanazawa, workers dressed in full-body overalls haul large blocks of ice across the factory floor, before starting on the delicate work of carving perfect spheres, cubes and rectangular blocks with cut corners.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
Papa was handy too, carving up tops and other toys for us.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
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