minecraft

American  

[mahyn-kraft, ‐-krahft] / ˈmaɪnˌkræft, ‐ˌkrɑft /

noun

1. a type of warship for sweeping mines at sea.

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Trademark.

1. Minecraft. a brand name for a sandbox video game with construction, crafting, exploration, and combat mechanics, available on many game platforms.

Etymology

Origin of minecraft

1925–30; minecraft for def. 1, mine ² (in the sense “an underwater explosive”) + craft ( def. ); minecraft for def. 2, mine ² ( def. )  (in the sense “to dig, extract ore”) + craft ( def. ); coined in 2009 by Markus Persson , Swedish video game programmer and designer of the game.

Example Sentences

"GTA V" sold almost 230 million copies, making it the second best-selling game of all time, behind "Minecraft".

From Barron's • Jun. 24, 2026

These days, you can buy a custom capybara for Minecraft.

From Slate • May 27, 2026

Sometimes this happens because the studios are trying to capitalize on a moment, like when “The Minecraft Movie” coasted in on the fumes of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.”

From Salon • May 25, 2026

The startup’s other business involves building “world models,” or AI tools that use real-time video generation to create interactive, 3-D replicas of everything from the videogame Minecraft to the earth’s climate patterns.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026

“No, Andrea likes hedgehogs. This is Wade. He likes Minecraft, but that’s only his third-favorite game. Try again.”

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller