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carving knife

carving knife

6 2.3
A large sharp knife used to slice cooked meat
  • noun
  • /ˈkɑrvɪŋ naɪf/
translation icon : cuchillo de trinchar
  • He expertly used the carving knife to slice the roast turkey at dinner.

It wasn't a large carving knife.

Examples

  • This is a carving knife.

  • I believe you have my carving knife.

  • I cut it off with a carving knife.

  • "An electric carving knife," the kid said.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The good wife kept a carving knife in the kitchen drawer.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Now, Tommy, does your mother have a carving knife I could borrow?

  • Stabbing the meat with a carving knife, he served us.

    Blog text (26)
  • Tony gets up slowly, looks around, and grabs a carving knife from a hook on the wall.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • A carving knife slices through leg of lamb on the kitchen table.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Now there's one future wife who knows how to wield a carving knife.

How Specialized

butcher knife
13 3.2
carving knife
6 2.3
butter knife
7 1.0
table knife
1 1.0

Surface Forms

carving knife singular

Morphology

carve + knife

The meaning is directly compositional: 'carving' is the verbal adjective from 'carve' (to slice a roast) and 'knife' names the cutting tool, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer this is a knife for carving meat. This is a transparent, cross-linguistically common noun-modifier construction and follows standard English instrument + function patterns.

Etymology

The name carving knife comes from the word carving, meaning 'to slice cooked meat', and knife as the tool for that job. That's why a carving knife means a large, sharp knife used for slicing cooked meat.