Adjacent Words

Carve definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CARVE, v.t.
1. To cut into small pieces or slices, as meat at tale.
2. To cut wood, stone or other material into some particular form, with an instrument, usually a chisel; to engrave; to cut figures or devices on hard materials.
3. To make or shape by cutting; as, to carve an image.
4. To apportion; to distribute; to provide at pleasure; to select and take, as to ones self, or to select and give to another.
5. To cut; to hew.
To care out, is to cut out, or to lay out, by design; to plan.
CARVE, v.t.
1. To cut up meat; followed sometimes by for; as, to carve for all the quests.
2. To exercise the trade of a sculptor.
3. To engrave or cut figures.
CARVE, n. A carucate.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: form by carving; "Carve a flower from the ice"
2: engrave or cut by chipping away at a surface; "carve one's name into the bark" [syn: carve, chip at]
3: cut to pieces; "Father carved the ham" [syn: carve, cut up]

Merriam Webster's

verb (carved; carving) Etymology: Middle English kerven, from Old English ceorfan; akin to Old High German kerban to notch, Greek graphein to scratch, write Date: before 12th century 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 • carver noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. 1 tr. produce or shape (a statue, representation in relief, etc.) by cutting into a hard material (carved a figure out of rock; carved it in wood). 2 tr. a cut patterns, designs, letters, etc. in (hard material). b (foll. by into) form a pattern, design, etc., from (carved it into a bust). c (foll. by with) cover or decorate (material) with figures or designs cut in it. 3 tr. (absol.) cut (meat etc.) into slices for eating. Phrases and idioms: carve out 1 take from a larger whole. 2 establish (a career etc.) purposefully (carved out a name for themselves). carve up divide into several pieces; subdivide (territory etc.). carve-up n. sl. a sharing-out, esp. of spoils. carving knife a knife with a long blade, for carving meat. Etymology: OE ceorfan cut f. WG

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Carve Carve, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Carved; p. pr. & vb. n. Carving.] [AS. ceorfan to cut, carve; akin to D. kerven, G. kerben, Dan. karve, Sw. karfva, and to Gr. ? to write, orig. to scatch, and E. -graphy. Cf. Graphic.] 1. To cut. [Obs.] Or they will carven the shepherd's throat. --Spenser. 2. To cut, as wood, stone, or other material, in an artistic or decorative manner; to sculpture; to engrave. Carved with figures strange and sweet. --Coleridge. 3. To make or shape by cutting, sculpturing, or engraving; to form; as, to carve a name on a tree. An angel carved in stone. --Tennyson. We carved not a line, and we raised not a stone. --C. Wolfe. 4. To cut into small pieces or slices, as meat at table; to divide for distribution or apportionment; to apportion. ``To carve a capon.'' --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Carve Carve, v. i. 1. To exercise the trade of a sculptor or carver; to engrave or cut figures. 2. To cut up meat; as, to carve for all the guests.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Carve Carve, n. A carucate. [Obs.] --Burrill.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(carves, carving, carved) 1. If you carve an object, you make it by cutting it out of a substance such as wood or stone. If you carve something such as wood or stone into an object, you make the object by cutting it out. One of the prisoners has carved a beautiful wooden chess set... He carves his figures from white pine... I picked up a piece of wood and started carving. ...carved stone figures. = sculpt VERB: V n, V n prep, V, V-ed see also carving 2. If you carve writing or a design on an object, you cut it into the surface of the object. He carved his name on his desk... The ornately carved doors were made in the seventeenth century. VERB: V n in/on n, V-ed 3. If you carve a piece of cooked meat, you cut slices from it so that you can eat it. Andrew began to carve the chicken... Carve the beef into slices. VERB: V n, V n into n

Easton's Bible Dictionary

The arts of engraving and carving were much practised among the Jews. They were practised in connection with the construction of the tabernacle and the temple (Ex. 31:2, 5; 35:33; 1 Kings 6:18, 35; Ps. 74:6), as well as in the ornamentation of the priestly dresses (Ex. 28:9-36; Zech. 3:9; 2 Chr. 2:7, 14). Isaiah (44:13-17) gives a minute description of the process of carving idols of wood.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Sculpture, chisel, cut. 2. Form, shape, fashion, mould. 3. Engrave, grave. 4. Cut, hew, hack. 5. Cut in pieces or slices, slice, divide. II. v. n. 1. Exercise the trade of a carver. 2. Cut meat at table.

Moby Thesaurus

allot, amputate, apportion, assemble, autolithograph, ax, be a printmaker, bisect, block out, book, butcher, calendar, canal, canalize, carve up, cast, catalog, chalk, chalk up, chamfer, channel, character, chase, check in, chip, chisel, chop, chronicle, cleave, convert, corrugate, crack, crease, create, cribble, crimp, crosshatch, cultivate, cut, cut away, cut in two, cut off, cut up, dado, dichotomize, dike, dissect, dissever, ditch, divide, divide into shares, divide up, divide with, divvy up, docket, efform, enchase, engrave, enroll, enscroll, enter, excise, extract, fashion, figure, file, fill out, fissure, fix, flute, forge, form, formalize, found, frame, furrow, gash, goffer, gouge, grave, groove, grow, gully, hack, halve, harvest, hatch, hew, impanel, incise, index, inscribe, insculpture, insert, jigsaw, jot down, knead, knock out, lance, lay out, lick into shape, line, list, lithograph, log, machine, make a memorandum, make a note, make an entry, make out, make prints, mark, mark down, matriculate, mill, mine, mint, minute, model, mold, note, note down, parcel, parcel out, pare, part, partition, place upon record, pleat, plow, poll, portion, post, post up, print, process, prune, pump, put down, put in writing, put on paper, put on tape, rabbet, raise, rear, record, reduce to writing, refine, register, rend, rifle, rive, rough out, roughcast, roughhew, rut, saw, scissor, score, scrape, scratch, sculp, sculpt, sculpture, set, set down, sever, shape, share, share out, share with, slash, slice, slice the pie, slice up, slit, smelt, snip, solder, split, split up, stamp, stipple, streak, striate, subdivide, sunder, tabulate, tailor, take down, tape, tape-record, tear, thermoform, tool, trench, trough, videotape, weld, whittle, work, wrinkle, write, write down, write in, write out, write up