- a variation of sculp..
sculpt
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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sculpts,
present (3rd person singular)
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sculpted,
past participle, past
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sculpting
present participle
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
sculptsimple
-
sculptssimple
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have sculptedperfect
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has sculptedperfect
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am sculptingprogressive
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are sculptingprogressive
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is sculptingprogressive
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have been sculptingperfect progressive
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has been sculptingperfect progressive
Past
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sculptedsimple
-
had sculptedperfect
-
was sculptingprogressive
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were sculptingprogressive
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had been sculptingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sculpt
1860–65; < French sculpter < Latin sculpt- (past participle stem of sculpere to carve); or as back formation from sculptor
Explanation
To sculpt is to shape or carve a figure out of a moldable or hard material. You could sculpt a figure of your mom's cat or you could sculpt your biceps by lifting weights. Artists who sculpt are called sculptors, and the work of art they make is called a sculpture. You can sculpt out of wood or stone, by carving, or sculpt clay by molding and shaping. You can sculpt metal by heating it and pouring it into molds, or by welding pieces of it together. It's even possible to sculpt with balloons, twisting them into complicated structures or figures.
Vocabulary lists containing sculpt
"Brothers in Hope"
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Unit 17, Lesson 4
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Black Girl You Are Atlas
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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:
Collectors have dubbed this the “Mackie” face sculpt, and it has been in use ever since.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
The Murdochs declined to participate, but decades’ worth of archival footage gives Garbus plenty to sculpt.
From Salon ● Mar. 14, 2026
The manosphere’s sobriety is robed in strength and self-actualization, no different than the sleep routine, supplements, and squats that will sculpt the best version of you.
From Slate ● Feb. 15, 2026
The collisions carve and sculpt the nebula, creating its intricate and textured appearance.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 26, 2026
“We can sculpt and shape the neural circuits to refine the brain. We can drastically improve people’s abilities. “This is my dream.”
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
That wrist is how Alcaraz sculpts that spectacular drop shot that makes opponents quiver at the knees and would make Harry Hopman cry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Craning her neck into elegant lines, she sculpts herself into the rendering she wants.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026
The stars spit up protons and neutrons, shaping surrounding dust and other material, not unlike how wind on Earth sculpts our clouds.
From New York Times ● May 23, 2024
With all that, he still sculpts a performance that is solid granite supporting a crackled shale of a script.
From Salon ● Mar. 15, 2024
In the end, Santa sculpts the group’s freewheeling ideas into a few concrete requirements: I have to repay Mr. Davis for the fireworks I stole.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
A library of radically changed visages, sliced and sculpted to fit the funhouse-mirror beauty standards set by a handful of influential men.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026
However, Guest warns striving for a sculpted stomach could "feed into people's insecurities".
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Mauro Tinti created the period costumes, complete with sculpted black masks for the removers of the dead; Antonio Castro did the eerie lighting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
There were outdoor hallways, planted patios, a sculpted and porous internal courtyard, and even a new “paseo” next door — a closed street turned into a lovely space for farmers markets and other gatherings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
His arms are lean and sculpted and his biceps fill the sleeves of his black T-shirt.
From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon
GS: What’s your relationship with your other creative outlets, like painting and sculpting?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Still pending are the sculpting of the south-facing Glory façade, the eventual front of the church, celebrating Christ triumphant, and the addition of a grand entrance staircase envisioned by Gaudí.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
"Instead of searching for entirely new materials or manipulating the chemical properties of existing ones, we are now showing how superconductivity can be enhanced by sculpting the substrate," says Lombardi.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 17, 2026
Two stonemasons have won a snow sculpting prize as part of Team GB's entry to the World Snow Festival in Switzerland.
From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2026
The Bennington-Sarah Lawrence type looked like she’d spent the whole train ride in the john, sculpting or painting or something, or as though she had a leotard on under her dress.
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
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.
