sculptor
noun
a person who practices the art of sculpture.
sculptor
American
[skuhlp-ter]
/ ˈskʌlp tər /
noun
sculptors,
plural
Sculptoris
genitive
-
a person who practices the art of sculpture.
-
(initial capital letter) a southern constellation between Phoenix and Cetus.
Sculptor
1
British
/ ˈskʌlptə /
noun
sculptor
2
British
/ ˈskʌlptə /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sculptor
First recorded before 1625–35; from Latin, equivalent to sculp(ere) “to carve” + -tor -tor
Explanation
An artist who creates three-dimensional works of art is a sculptor. Some sculptors carve designs out of a piece of wood or stone, while others weld slabs of metal together to create their masterpieces. The thing distinguishing a sculptor from other artists is that their work can be viewed from many different sides, instead of being a relatively flat painting or collage. Sculptors today work in just about any medium you can imagine, including clay, fabric, metal, bone, plastic — even sand and ice. Ancient Greek and Roman sculptors created lifelike figures from marble and bronze, some of which you can still see in museums today. The Latin root of sculpture means "to carve."
Vocabulary lists containing sculptor
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -er, -or
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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:
Otero Alcantara, a self-taught performance artist, sculptor and painter, rose to prominence in 2020 as leader of the San Isidro protest movement of artists and intellectuals.
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
His collection was a nod to the American sculptor Lynda Benglis and featured accordion-like dresses, skirts and accessories.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
On Wednesday, the team unveiled a memorial dedicated to “Jota and Silva at its Anfield Stadium. The monument, designed by sculptor Emma Rodgers, is named “Forever 20,” in honor of Jota’s Liverpool jersey number.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026
It was created by Ohio-based sculptor Alan Cottrill, who has modeled a number of eclectic Americans over the years.
From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2026
In a better time and place, Uncle might have been a sculptor.
From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep
Sculptor Maddy Inez, granddaughter of Betye Saar, crafts a series of ceramic vessels — each an ode to different plants brought over during the transatlantic slave trade — reframing gardening as an act of resistance.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
Appeared in the April 9, 2026, print edition as 'A Sculptor of Urban Spaces'.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
Sculptor Alan Beattie Herriot, who also created the statue of footballer Denis Law in Aberdeen, said he was excited about this latest commission.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2025
NGC 253 is located about 10 million light-years away in the direction of the constellation Sculptor.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 28, 2024
“See how beautiful this horse is; Leonardo da Vinci alone has created it. Sculptor, fine painter, fine mathematician, so great an intellect rarely does Heaven bestow.”
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
Purpose-built for working artists, it was the first of its kind in the country, and immediately attracted painters, sculptors, architects—and Winthrop.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
One of the detainees was 16-year-old Ruth Asawa, one of America’s most celebrated sculptors.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
Most sculptors did not carve their own marble copies, but Stebbins insisted on doing so herself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
Gill was among the most prominent sculptors of the 20th Century.
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2025
The room is full of painters, sculptors, and sketchers during activity period, and some kids stay there until the late late buses are ready to roll.
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
They actually orbit each other, and as R Sculptoris dances in a circle, the wind that blows off from it forms a spiral pattern like a garden sprinkler shooting out water.
From Slate ● Dec. 19, 2012
About 7° south-east of α is the red and variable star R Sculptoris; variable from 6·2 to 8·8 magnitude, with a period of about 376 days.
From Astronomical Curiosities Facts and Fallacies by Gore, J. Ellard
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.
