weaver
1 Americannoun
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James Baird, 1833–1912, U.S. politician: congressman 1879–81, 1885–89.
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Robert Clifton, 1907–97, U.S. economist and government official: first Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 1966–68.
noun
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a person who weaves, esp as a means of livelihood
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short for weaverbird
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."
Vocabulary lists containing weaver
Name That Job: Occupational Last Names
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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.
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
A tour of East Coast craft-making wouldn’t be complete without a trip to a weaver, though Helena Hernmarck of Ridgefield, Conn., is more of a “tapestry artist.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025
Govan had recently flown in from Tilburg in the Netherlands, where he visited the TextielMuseum’s TextielLab with interdisciplinary artist and weaver Sarah Rosalena.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2025
The influx was such that a huge part of London's East End became known as "weaver town" as it transformed into a centre for the trade, led by migrants from across the English Channel.
From BBC • Mar. 3, 2025
“That’s the work of the greatest weaver of all.”
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
