to carve out
23
4.6
- phrasal verb
- /kɑrv aʊt/
:
forjarse
- With hard work and dedication, she has carved out a successful business in the tech industry.
- carve out a niche
- carve out space
- carve out an identity
It's more difficult now to carve out a space for yourself, for everybody, you know.
- It's more difficult now to carve out a space for yourself, for everybody, you know.
- But I carved out the time to be present and do those things.
- And and so that carving out these even small protected times are very important.
- I believe we're born into tribes, we're heavily socialized and that we carve out space for our individualism.
- And so by taking them to court, they were able to sort of start carving out recognition from Croatia.
- And to me, this image could stand for the path that the contemplative person carves out for herself or himself.
- Now, everything up until now has had it's nice little niche carved out for it.
- The one thing that you cannot mistake as an undeniable sign is he is carving out time for you.
- They're they're they're carving out ATV and a book career for themselves.
Examples
-
That means I got to be intentional about carving out time to be with him.
-
The lab has carved out a niche in the increasingly crowded world of digital humanities.
Academic text (2016) -
But I worked these 12 steps, and I carved out a little bit of a life for myself.
-
It's more difficult now to carve out a space for yourself, for everybody, you know.
-
I carved out a career as a horror author.
-
If she could get on that plane, she could carve out a whole new life for herself.
-
I am so thrilled that we were able to carve out time and I have so many questions.
-
We've carved out a simple life here.
-
Moms need support in carving out time to work on themselves.
-
A few women succeeded in carving out political identities for themselves over the course of the Revolution.
Academic text (2011)
Antonyms
How Established
- Specialized
31
4.7
411
4.1
23
4.6
∞
1.3
∞
1.0
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
carve + out
The sense 'to create or establish through effort' is a metaphorical extension of the literal verb 'carve' (to cut or shape) plus the particle 'out' indicating separation. A learner who knows 'carve' may partially infer the idea of making or freeing something, but the idiomatic application to time, careers, or opportunities requires figurative mapping and prior exposure. Because the connection is noticeable but not fully predictable, this is best judged semi-transparent.
Etymology
Carve out comes from the picture of someone using a tool to carve into wood or stone to make a small space or shelf, cutting material out. So to carve out a career or a place means 'to create or make something for yourself by hard work'.