sculpture
Americannoun
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the art of carving, modeling, welding, or otherwise producing figurative or abstract works of art in three dimensions, as in relief, intaglio, or in the round.
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such works of art collectively.
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an individual piece of such work.
verb (used with object)
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to carve, model, weld, or otherwise produce (a piece of sculpture).
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to produce a portrait or image of in this way; represent in sculpture.
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Physical Geography. to change the form of (the land surface) by erosion.
verb (used without object)
noun
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the art of making figures or designs in relief or the round by carving wood, moulding plaster, etc, or casting metals, etc
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works or a work made in this way
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ridges or indentations as on a shell, formed by natural processes
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the gradual formation of the landscape by erosion
verb
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(also intr) to carve, cast, or fashion (stone, bronze, etc) three dimensionally
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to portray (a person, etc) by means of sculpture
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to form in the manner of sculpture, esp to shape (landscape) by erosion
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to decorate with sculpture
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonsculpturaladjective
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sculpturaladjective
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unsculpturaladjective
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nonsculpturallyadverb
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sculpturallyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sculpturesimple
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sculpturessimple
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have sculpturedperfect
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has sculpturedperfect
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am sculpturingprogressive
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are sculpturingprogressive
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is sculpturingprogressive
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have been sculpturingperfect progressive
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has been sculpturingperfect progressive
Past
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sculpturedsimple
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had sculpturedperfect
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was sculpturingprogressive
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were sculpturingprogressive
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had been sculpturingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sculpture
1350–1400; Middle English (noun) < Latin sculptūra, equivalent to sculpt ( us ) (past participle of sculpere to carve) + -ūra -ure
Explanation
Sculpture is a type of artwork that's two- or three-dimensional, so you can see it from different sides. You can make sculpture from clay, marble, wood, and even mashed potatoes, though the potato kind might not make it into an art museum. From the Latin sculpere "to carve," sculpture often is carved out of a block of wood, stone, or other material. Statues and outdoor artworks are one type of sculpture, and they are freestanding — you can walk around them, under them, or even over them. Other types are carved into walls, with the figures or objects sticking out from a flat surface. Artists called sculptors use soft materials, metal, and even ice and common objects like cars and cans to make sculpture.
Vocabulary lists containing sculpture
Brown Girl Dreaming
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Ancient Egypt and Kush, Lessons 1–3
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Visual Arts - Introductory
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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.
The funds for the sculpture were appropriated by Congress, and lawmakers declared it complete in 1941 shortly after his death.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 3, 2026
For Flynn, it’s like carving away at what is already there to create something fun and cohesive, like a sculpture.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 3, 2026
The Statue of Liberty, the copper-clad sculpture of a robed and crowned woman holding a torch above her head, sits in New York's harbor and draws millions of visitors each year.
From Barron's • Jul. 3, 2026
The sculpture has been installed close to where tributes - including flowers, scarves, and cards - were placed in the immediate aftermath of their deaths.
From BBC • Jul. 3, 2026
“Sure it is. Comes from the Latin. Has to do with irony and the pastoral. Yeah. That’s it. Painting or sculpture or something, maybe.”
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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.
