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• weaver
  weaver

  noun

  a person who weaves.
• Weaver
  Weaver

  noun

  James Baird, 1833–1912, U.S. politician: congressman 1879–81, 1885–89.

weaver

¹ American  

[wee-ver] / ˈwi vər /

noun

• weavers
  plural

1. a person who weaves.

2. a person whose occupation is weaving.

3. a weaverbird.

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Weaver ² American  

[wee-ver] / ˈwi vər /

noun

1. James Baird, 1833–1912, U.S. politician: congressman 1879–81, 1885–89.

2. Robert Clifton, 1907–97, U.S. economist and government official: first Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 1966–68.

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weaver British  

/ ˈwiːvə /

noun

1. a person who weaves, esp as a means of livelihood

2. short for weaverbird

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• weavers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of weaver

First recorded in 1325–75, weaver is from the Middle English word wevere. See weave, -er ¹

Explanation

A person who makes fabric by weaving fiber together is a weaver. Most weavers use a loom, a device that holds the threads tightly as they're being woven. A craft weaver works by hand, weaving without a loom, but most weavers use either a hand loom or a power loom. This more mechanized type of loom was invented in the 1780s, and it made the work less physically taxing for weavers. The Proto-Indo-European root of weaver is also the source of the Sanskrit word ubhnati, "he laces together" and the Greek word hyphe, or "web."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

weaver Weaver weavers

Ms. Kanakia, a novelist and the author of the newsletter “Woman of Letters,” is a compelling writer and a careful weaver of arguments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

Researchers from several South American institutions have identified a new species of crevice weaver spider, expanding what scientists know about the Pikelinia genus.

From Science Daily ● May 1, 2026

“Getting Native people out into nature is going to bring that tribal stewardship with it. The basket weaver, she can’t help herself; she’s going to care for those basket weaving materials.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026

Shadrack Yao Agboli, a fugu weaver who also works with the National Commission on Culture, has a home workshop where long bands of hand-loomed fabric hang to dry in the afternoon sun.

From Barron's ● Feb. 13, 2026

Otherwise, life is our time in a craftsman’s hands—the way a piece of wood is carved into a spoon by a carpenter or reeds are woven by a basket weaver.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

Leader of the council, Chris Weaver, said the priority remained as the safety and wellbeing of residents affected.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

Canada’s fires largely occur in vast, remote forests that aren’t managed at all, Andrew Weaver, a climate scientist at the University of Victoria, pointed out this week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

Emily Weaver Rhodes, SWA deputy director, told BBC Radio Scotland that the removal of tariffs showed the positive relationship between the US and UK.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

Weaver and her spouse also shared some emotional insight into their life since her time on the cheerleading squad came to an end several months ago.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

Nyame had Kumi, the golden statue, march the Weaver back to the palace, where judgment would be delivered.

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia

The streets are also named for these weavers of words, so they’re overhead and underfoot.

From Salon ● Jun. 23, 2026

The loom put weavers out of work, he added, but it raised living standards for everyone who came after.

From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026

Through November, the museum features an open-air spider pavilion, a ticketed exhibit that allows visitors to walk amid hundreds of spiders known as orb weavers and their intricate webs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2025

Many such Wayuu weavers come from rural, isolated communities where only Wayuunaiki - the Wayuu language - is spoken.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2025

Those mounted plains warriors and Navajo sheepherders and weavers now figure prominently in white Americans’ image of American Indians, but the basis for that image was created only after 1492.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond