Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🎃 To shape by cutting 🍗 To slice meat 💾 To recover data
to carve

to carve

272 2.1
Cut shapes and patterns into wood, stone and other hard materials
  • verb
  • /kɑrv/
translation icon : tallar
  • The town itself was a collection of buildings carved from the black rock, fronting a single street.
  • carved from wood
  • a carved wooden object
  • a carved mask

I was able to carve Rodan's The Thinker.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • In the woods outside, she carved our initials in the trees.

    Shelby Oaks (2025)

  • The grand prize was a lifesize sculpture of the winner, carved out of butter.

    Academic text (2011)

  • So I would like to carve a channel in it like that.

  • And but his approach was to carve a very precise model.

  • One player will carve any number of crosses into the table.

  • And now it's time to carve out the lid.

  • It's all just been carved out of this rock.

  • He's also been helping me carve wood for the church.

    WWJD II: The Woodcarver (2012)

  • Bishop St. James sat in the great carved stone Glastonbury Cathedral, "the bishop's chair."

    Fiction book (1990)

  • She will carve beautiful designs into the wooden surface of the table.

Synonyms

to scratch
vsto carve
161 1.1

To cut or mark a surface by scraping it with something sharp

is deeper shaping or forming of material by cutting, not light surface marks
to sculpt
vsto carve
57 4.3

To make a statue from stone, wood, or clay by cutting and shaping it

is the general act of cutting into material to shape or form objects
to engrave
vsto carve
47 5.2

To cut words and pictures into a hard surface like metal or wood

is broader cutting and shaping of material, not only precise decorative cuts
to inscribe
vsto carve
31 5.3

Put words on something like a book or monument so they last

is about cutting into material to shape or form, not only making marks
to chisel
vsto carve
19 5.1

To shape wood or stone using a flat metal blade

is any cutting or shaping action, not tied to a single tool or method
to etch
vsto carve
18 5.5

To cut a design into metal or glass with a sharp tool

covers any cutting into material to form or shape, not only those methods
to chase
vsto carve
  • Specialized
17 9.1

To cut a narrow groove into a wall or other surface

is general cutting into material to form shapes rather than specific grooves
to whittle
vsto carve
13 6.2

To cut small pieces from wood with a knife

is broader shaping or cutting of many materials, not only small shaving work
to sculpture
vsto carve
2 4.6

To make a figure by carving stone or wood

is the action of cutting into material to shape or form objects rather than the object
to grave
vsto carve
  • Archaic
1 7.7

To cut letters or a design into a hard surface

focuses on shaping or forming material by cutting beyond just marking
to etch a design
vsto carve
6.5

To cut a pattern into glass, metal, or wood

is general shaping by cutting into material, not limited to pattern methods

Phrasal Verbs

to carve out
23 4.6

Make a place for yourself in a job or field by working hard

to carve up
14 5.8

To divide something into parts to share between people

to carve out a niche
1 6.0

To create a special area of work or market for yourself

to carve a path
1 4.2

To make a way through something, physically or by creating new opportunities

to carve a totem
1 8.4

Make a wooden statue that shows cultural or spiritual beliefs to honor tradition

How Detailed

to sculpt
57 4.3
to engrave
47 5.2
to carve
272 2.1
to cut
∞ 1.0
to chip
104 2.3
to scratch
161 1.1

Surface Forms

carve infinitive
carved past
carved past participle
carving present participle
carves third person singular

Etymology

Carve comes from the old English word ceorfan, which meant 'to cut'. Think of a sculptor cutting away wood or stone to make a shape, so carve means to shape something by cutting it.