carving (out)

verb

Definition of carving (out)next
present participle of carve (out)
as in grinding (out)
to produce or bring about especially by long or repeated effort finally carved out a niche for the sport in the school's athletic program

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for carving (out)
  1. developing
  2. forging
  3. working up
  4. creating
  5. hammering out
  6. working out
Verb
  • The team has appeared comfortable all offseason — after re-signing Singleton and Strnad in free agency and releasing fellow veteran Dre Greenlaw — relying on this young, developing cast to fill the depth positions.
    — Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Washington has been developing new wildfire safety regulations for several years, including building codes for homes constructed in risky areas and rules for managing plants and vegetation.
    — Lauren Sommer, NPR, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of developing
Verb
  • Deborah is forging her own stylish reputation wearing Balmain and a Chanel look of her own.
    — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Bosa seems committed to forging ahead in another ACL comeback, having rebounded well in 2021 with a reconstructed left knee and captured NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2022.
    — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of forging
Verb
  • Some have already talked to a parent; others are working up the nerve.
    — Carolyn O'Laughlin, CNN Money, 28 June 2026
  • While working up the nerve to kill her, Loftis discovers that Ruth is secretly the mother of his late wife Lauren (Meredith Casey), making his son Evan (Kingston Rumi Southwick) the final descendant.
    — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 17 June 2026
Definition of working up
Verb
  • The design team for Viva is the same one creating Rams Village just a block away, which will feature the team's headquarters, training facility and more residential living on the 52-acre site.
    — Hunter Sowards, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Long-term Treasury yields rose to their highest point since 2007, creating another headwind for the economy and lifting borrowing costs for consumers and businesses.
    — David J. Lynch, Washington Post, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of creating
Verb
  • Fox is the first NFL partner to publicly assert a lack of interest in hammering out an early revision of its existing media contract.
    — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Israeli and Lebanese negotiating teams are set to meet again there to continue hammering out a plan under which Israel would withdraw from southern Lebanon in exchange for Hezbollah’s disarmament.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of hammering out
Verb
  • Bieber's carousel also included a video of herself working out at a gym and a photo in which she was seen holding a plate of meatballs topped with red sauce and cheese.
    — Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Donald has been working out at the Rams' Woodland Hills training complex and at home for several weeks in his attempt to return to NFL shape.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of working out
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

carving
carving (out)
carvings
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Carving (out).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/carving%20%28out%29. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of balmy

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Is “GIF” Pronounced “Jiff” or “Giff”?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All