sculpture

American  

[skuhlp-cher] / ˈskʌlp tʃər /

noun

• sculptures
  plural

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.

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verb (used with object)

• sculptures,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sculptured,
  past participle,  past
• sculpturing
  present participle

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)

• sculptures,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sculptured,
  past participle,  past
• sculpturing
  present participle

1. to work as a sculptor.

sculpture British  

/ 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

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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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sculptures
  plural

Participles

• sculpturing
  present
• sculptured
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• sculpture
  simple
• sculptures
  simple
• have sculptured
  perfect
• has sculptured
  perfect
• am sculpturing
  progressive
• are sculpturing
  progressive
• is sculpturing
  progressive
• have been sculpturing
  perfect progressive
• has been sculpturing
  perfect progressive

Past

• sculptured
  simple
• had sculptured
  perfect
• was sculpturing
  progressive
• were sculpturing
  progressive
• had been sculpturing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will sculpture
  simple
• will have sculptured
  perfect
• will be sculpturing
  progressive
• will have been sculpturing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of sculpture

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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sculpture sculptures sculptured sculpturing

Actor Danny Dyer has delivered a petition to Downing Street calling for water companies to be nationalised after floating a giant poo sculpture down the River Thames on a boat.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

His unconventional ceramics, like his painting, tend to be massively scaled and edge closer to sculpture than functional objects.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

The sculpture first appeared in 1982’s “Rocky III,” when the character was world heavyweight champion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

A giant clay sculpture of Pope Leo XIV's head takes shape in a workshop in Peru's capital, as the Andean nation prepares for the pontiff's visit in November.

From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026

For one thing, nobody knew what a living sculpture was.

From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson

At Huxley-Parlour, SaraNoa Mark’s chunky cast-glass sculptures look like fragments of artifacts from an ancient alien civilization.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Wolfe’s collecting and sale of vigango sculptures have drawn scrutiny.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

After the death of her lover, Romanian sculptor George Apostu, whose rough-hewn wood sculptures still populate the house’s patio, Caland’s children encouraged yet another departure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

Trained as a forensic pathologist, Ms. Margolles focuses on violence and the forces that drive it in sculptures, photographs and more.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Since kindergarten, we have collected rocks and shells each summer and glued and painted them to make sculptures.

From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

In “An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles,” authors David Gebhard and Robert Winter suggest that the ornate ends of the bridge “cry out for sculptured saints.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

His charming, whimsical collection featured ruffled tutus, sculptured soft knits, peplum jackets, skirts with bustles and plenty of shearling fabric.

From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026

Her award-winning face, statuesque figure and sculptured features made her blend in with the younger cohort onstage.

From Seattle Times ● May 25, 2024

Meet an Australian supermodel for the ages: six feet tall with a sculptured visage, endless legs and piercing orange eyes.

From New York Times ● Jun. 30, 2023

Danny was looking at me, his sculptured face wearing a serious expression.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok

A busboy is embraced by the beatnik art community when he develops an impressive but morbid method of sculpturing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2019

The moon was just rising, molten white; he had to catch that moment with its surreal, sculpturing incandescence.

From New York Times ● Jan. 24, 2013

The Weinstein Company is set to release “Butter,” in which Jennifer Garner plays an ambitious conservative who gets caught up in the world of competitive butter sculpturing, on Oct.

From New York Times ● May 30, 2012

Instead, researchers have moved on to new questions like when and how this sculpturing happened and which of our mental traits are adaptations and which are accidents.

From New York Times ● Feb. 26, 2010

Does it tell of the slow, daily sculpturing upon his character of the three big, emotional episodes of his life?

From In the Heart of a Fool by William Allen White

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Related Words

• sculpt

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