sculpture

[skuhlp-cher]

noun

1. 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.

2. such works of art collectively.

3. an individual piece of such work.

verb (used with object)

sculptured, sculpturing 

1. to carve, model, weld, or otherwise produce (a piece of sculpture).

2. to produce a portrait or image of in this way; represent in sculpture.

3. Physical Geography.,  to change the form of (the land surface) by erosion.

verb (used without object)

sculptured, sculpturing 

1. to work as a sculptor.

sculpture

/ ˈskʌlptʃə /

noun

1. the art of making figures or designs in relief or the round by carving wood, moulding plaster, etc, or casting metals, etc

2. works or a work made in this way

3. ridges or indentations as on a shell, formed by natural processes

4. the gradual formation of the landscape by erosion

verb

1. (also intr) to carve, cast, or fashion (stone, bronze, etc) three dimensionally

2. to portray (a person, etc) by means of sculpture

3. to form in the manner of sculpture, esp to shape (landscape) by erosion

4. to decorate with sculpture

Other Word Forms

• sculptural adjective
• sculpturally adverb
• nonsculptural adjective
• nonsculpturally adverb
• resculpture verb (used with object)
• unsculptural adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sculpture¹

1350–1400; Middle English (noun) < Latin sculptūra, equivalent to sculpt ( us ) (past participle of sculpere to carve) + -ūra -ure

Word History and Origins

Origin of sculpture¹

C14: from Latin sculptūra a carving; see _sculpt

Example Sentences

Celebrities posed in a room filled with giant planet-like sculptures, some of which hung from the ceiling, lighting up the catwalk.

From BBC

The sculpture resurfaced Thursday night, this time bolted to a concrete base near the site of its earlier removal and renamed “Why Can’t We Be Friends?”

From Salon

The inflatable sculpture was inspired by a painting Shilling made of a similarly cute little bear, which is also on view.

From Los Angeles Times

The sculptures and drawings are both made up of seemingly endless loops of swirls, squigles and strands.

From BBC

They included exotic-sounding offerings such as white trailing lantana, orange flame gazania rigens and pink kaboom lampranthus — all chosen to satisfy the sculpture’s various sectional color requirements, marked “pupil,” “iris,” “pony dark” and more.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• sculpt