Meaning & use
handicraft
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
An activity in which you make things with your hands, such as weaving, pottery, or woodwork.
Grammar: Use it with 'a' or in the plural for the activities ('pottery is a handicraft'), and without 'a' for the general idea ('she teaches handicraft').
Patterns
- do a handicraft
- teach handicraft
- learn a handicraft
Pottery is a popular handicraft in this region.
The children do handicraft every Friday afternoon.
She learned several handicrafts, including basket weaving and embroidery.
nouncountable
An object made by hand in a traditional way, especially one made by a skilled worker.
Grammar: Countable here: one object is a handicraft, several are handicrafts. Often used in the plural for goods sold to visitors.
Patterns
- sell handicrafts
- buy handicrafts
- local handicrafts
The market is famous for its colorful handicrafts.
Tourists buy handicrafts such as carved figures and woven bags.
The fair shows handicrafts from villages across the country.
noununcountable
The skill of making things by hand, especially in a traditional way.
Grammar: No article and no plural when it means the skill itself: 'a school for handicraft'.
Patterns
- a handicraft class
- study handicraft
He studied handicraft at a small college in the north.
The museum runs handicraft classes for beginners.
Word forms
| plural | handicrafts |
|---|
Common combinations
- local handicrafts
- The shop sells local handicrafts made by nearby families.
- traditional handicrafts
- Traditional handicrafts are slowly disappearing in big cities.
- a handicraft market
- We spent the morning at a handicraft market by the river.
- handicraft skills
- The program helps young people develop handicraft skills.
- handicraft workshop
- She joined a handicraft workshop to learn how to make baskets.
Synonyms and how they differ
- craft
- The more common and general word; it can also mean the skill itself or a boat, so 'handicraft' is clearer when you mean traditional handmade work.
- handiwork
- Usually means the work or the result produced by a particular person, not the activity or the industry.
- artisanry
- A formal, less common word for work done by skilled craftspeople, often used about luxury goods.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: handicraft or handcrafted? handicraft or handiwork?
handicraft vs handcrafted
'Handicraft' is the activity or the object; 'handcrafted' is an adjective describing something made by hand.
handicraft vs handiwork
'Handiwork' means the result of someone's work, often used with a possessive: 'Is this your handiwork?'
Practice
Which sentence uses 'handicraft' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Handicraft' is a noun for handmade objects or activities, so the plural 'handicrafts' fits after 'several'. Option 2 invents a verb, option 3 wrongly uses it for a person, and option 4 makes no sense as an action.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “handicraft”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.