wright
noun
a worker, especially a constructive worker (used chiefly in combination).
wright
1 American
[rahyt]
/ raɪt /
noun
-
wrights
plural
Wright
2
American
[rahyt]
/ raɪt /
noun
-
Charles, born 1935, U.S. poet.
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Frances or Fanny, 1795–1852, U.S. abolitionist and social reformer, born in Scotland.
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Frank Lloyd, 1867–1959, U.S. architect.
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James, 1927–80, U.S. poet and translator.
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Joseph Wright of Derby, 1734–97, English painter.
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Joseph, 1855–1935, English philologist and lexicographer.
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Mary Kathryn Mickey, born 1935, U.S. golfer.
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Orville 1871–1948, and his brother Wilbur, 1867–1912, U.S. aeronautical inventors.
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Richard, 1908–60, U.S. novelist.
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Russel 1904–76, U.S. industrial designer.
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Willard Huntington S. S. Van Dine, 1888–1939, U.S. journalist, critic, and author.
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a male given name.
Wright
1
British
/ raɪt /
noun
-
Frank Lloyd. 1869–1959, US architect, whose designs include the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo (1916), the Guggenheim Museum, New York (1943), and many private houses. His "organic architecture" sought a close relationship between buildings and their natural surroundings
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Joseph, known as Wright of Derby . 1734–97, British painter, noted for his paintings of industrial and scientific subjects, esp The Orrery (?1765) and The Air Pump (1768)
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Joseph. 1855–1930, British philologist; editor of The English Dialect Dictionary (1898–1905)
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Judith ( Arundel ). 1915–2000, Australian poet, critic, and conservationist. Her collections of poetry include The Moving Image (1946), Woman to Man (1949), and A Human Pattern (1990)
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Richard. 1908–60, US Black novelist and short-story writer, best known for the novel Native Son (1940)
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Wilbur (1867–1912) and his brother, Orville (1871–1948), US aviation pioneers, who designed and flew the first powered aircraft (1903)
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William, known as Billy . 1924–94, English footballer: winner of 105 caps
wright
2
British
/ raɪt /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of wright
before 900; Middle English; Old English wryhta, metathetic variant of wyrhta “worker”; akin to work
Explanation
If you make a living building furniture out of wood, you can call yourself a wright, which is an old fashioned way to say "maker or builder." You're more likely to see the word wright in combination with other words than on its own these days. Some common examples are playwright and wheelwright, or in other words, makers of plays and wheels. The origin of wright is the Old English wryhta, or "someone who works with wood." Originally, a wright was specifically a wood worker, but later it grew to include many different kinds of professions.
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.
See Examples For:
Topics: , , , , colorado capitol building, jared wright, jonathan singer, kurtis lee, Denver Post, John Hickenlooper, Gov. John Hickenlooper, , ,
From Salon ● Feb. 20, 2014
Tags: Baseball, david wright, mets, retaliation, terry collins Baseball evokes the image of a father having that catch with his son.
From New York Times ● May 24, 2012
Arthur died of cancer in 1907 and Sylvia followed him three years later, leaving the play wright as her boys' principal guardian.
From Time Magazine Archive
When the Tsar met a capable man, whether he was a juggler, a ship wright or a general, he offered him riches and high position to practice his trade in Russia.
From Time Magazine Archive
On this metal plate lay a new cast wheel, and the wright with a bar screwed a nut so as to hold the cart-wheel down firmly on the "platform."
From The Broom-Squire by S. (Sabine) Baring-Gould
During a recent visit to Caracas, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright insisted on the need to revamp Venezuela's ability to generate power.
From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026
Wright, along with Philip Barker, 57, Clive Massey, 64, and Mark Gregory, 63, are accused of conspiracy to defraud the Environment Agency and water regulator Ofwat.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Ehrsam wasn’t present last week at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas when Energy Secretary Chris Wright and interim President Delcy Rodríguez unveiled a series of U.S. investment deals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
The homeowners collaborated with the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy on a painstaking, down-to-the-studs restoration and modernization of the space.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
Wright had also written to Admiral Thomas Graves, Gage’s naval commander, asking for “immediate assistance” and “a sloop of war of some sort.”
From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen
Play wrights Sanctuary directed Dr Larry Myers of St John s University goes directly to breaking news troubespots nd engages in dramatic arts jihads!
From New York Times ● Dec. 29, 2017
It remains to be seen whether the costly craft launched by Russel Crowe and his ark wrights will sink or swim.
From Time ● Mar. 27, 2014
Other English play wrights may update Shaw; Berkoff wants to be an East End blend of Sam Shepard and Jean Genet.
From Time Magazine Archive
Unlike many play wrights, Hamilton was both willing and able to make changes in his script.
From Time Magazine Archive
Humpty Dumpty lay in a beck,* With all his sinews round his neck; Forty doctors and forty wrights Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty to rights!
From The Nursery Rhymes of England by Various
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.
