artist

noun

art·ist ˈär-tist

plural artists

: a person who creates art (such as painting, sculpture, music, or writing) using conscious skill and creative imagination

the great artists of the Renaissance

an artist specializing in watercolors

: a person skilled in any of the arts

I can't draw at all, but both of my children are very talented artists.

: a skilled performer

a trapeze artist

especially : a musical or theatrical entertainer : artiste

a jazz artist

: a person who is very good at something

a scam artist

a strikeout artist

obsolete : one skilled or versed in learned arts

archaic : physician

archaic : artisan sense 1

Examples of artist in a Sentence

the great artists of the Renaissance a pitcher who is a strikeout artist

Recent Examples on the Web Other artists, including Malú, Ana Mena, Arde Bogotá, Omar Montes, Reik, Nicki Nicole, Kenia OS and María José Llergo, were also at the event ,which took place in Hacienda Azahares. —

Franchesca Guim, Billboard, 15 Nov. 2023 The special honors artists including comedian Billy Crystal, soprano Renée Fleming, Bee Gees member and singer-songwriter Barry Gibb, television host and singer Dionne Warwick, and actor, rapper and singer Queen Latifah. —

Valerie Wu, Variety, 15 Nov. 2023 In a second photo from the same post, Holmes documented the inking process by showing the tattoo artist with her tools pressed firmly against his arm. —

Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 15 Nov. 2023 The two hip-hop artists will release an album, billed to Future x Metro Boomin, before the fest, according to a tweet from Rolling Loud. —

Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 15 Nov. 2023 Department shares a hometown with Australia’s most famous sample collage artists, The Avalanches. —

Al Shipley, SPIN, 15 Nov. 2023 The modern building is known for its permanent collection of famed contemporary Latin American artists. —

Megan Wood, Travel + Leisure, 14 Nov. 2023 Jimbo’s world tour, titled Jimbo’s Drag Circus, has 35 dates scheduled in 2024, and the performance artist is also working on their debut album. —

Degen Pener, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Nov. 2023 When New England agriculture went into decline, the regional culture—mainly the urban artists, writers and poets of the mid-19th century—began to claim their stony fields and walls as symbols of their ancestors’ hard work and tenacity. —

Robert Thorson, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'artist.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French artiste "person practicing a craft, student of the liberal arts," borrowed from Medieval Latin artista "artificer, student of the liberal arts," from Latin art-, ars "acquired skill, art entry 1" + -ista -ist entry 1

First Known Use

1563, in the meaning defined at sense 4c

Time Traveler

The first known use of artist was in 1563

See more words from the same year