carve

verb \ ˈkärv \

Updated on: 13 Apr 2018

Definition of carve

carved; carving

transitive verb

1 : to cut with care or precision

carved fretwork

2 : to make or get by or as if by cutting —often used with out

carve out a career

3 : to cut into pieces or slices

carved the turkey

intransitive verb

1 : to cut up and serve meat

2 : to work as a sculptor or engraver

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carver

noun

See carve defined for English-language learners

See carve defined for kids

Examples of carve in a Sentence

We carved an ice sculpture.
Who is going to carve the turkey?
He carved while I made the gravy.

Recent Examples of carve from the Web

With the weight of his father's legacy on his shoulders, and his words of advice ringing in his ears, Javier is attempting to carve out his own professional golf career.

— ben simister and tom mcgowan, CNN, "Seve Ballesteros: The Spanish master of Augusta," 6 Apr. 2018
That led to a feel-good promotional video for Delos, Inc. (well, feel-good, aside from the brief glimpse of what appears to be James Delos carving up his own face).

— bryan bishop, The Verge, "A guide to Westworld’s viral marketing, for fans who don’t want to translate binary code," 6 Apr. 2018
For a generation that pounded its joints doing aerobics, running marathons, and carving up the ski slopes, it’s time to roll out the spare parts.

— robert weisman — boston globe, STAT, "Boomers line up for joint replacements, and their expectations are high," 4 Apr. 2018
The buffet will feature a raw bar, carving stations, desserts and more.

— jennifer jhon, South Florida Parenting, "Easter dinner fun for families in South Florida," 29 Mar. 2018
Using data from the 2010 census, GOP lawmakers used sophisticated computer programs to aggressively carve up the state’s legislative map into as many Republican-friendly districts as possible.

— matt ford, The New Republic, "Can the U.S. Supreme Court Stop Gerrymandering?," 28 Mar. 2018
Audi was able to carve out fractionally more rear-seat legroom, which is now generous, although headroom remains marginal.

— joe lorio, Car and Driver, "2019 Audi A7," 7 Feb. 2018
This is especially successful when the table itself is eye-catching and worthy of conversation, like this antique carved wood piece.

— joanna linberg, Sunset, "10 Winning Side-Table Styling Ideas," 22 Jan. 2018
In the last decade, New York has begun to carve out bike lanes and pedestrian plazas.

— justin davidson, Daily Intelligencer, "What Is a City Street? And What Will It Become?," 18 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'carve.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of carve

Middle English kerven, from Old English ceorfan; akin to Old High German kerban to notch, Greek graphein to scratch, write

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

carve Synonyms

Synonyms

sculpt, sculpture;

knap;

cast, form, model, mold, shape;

CARVE Defined for English Language Learners

carve

verb

Definition of carve for English Language Learners

: to make (something, such as a sculpture or design) by cutting off pieces of the material it is made of
: to cut (something, such as a pattern or design) into a surface
: to create (something) by cutting into a surface