Meaning & use
sculpture
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A solid figure or object made by carving, shaping, casting or joining materials such as stone, clay or metal.
Grammar: Countable for a single work: a sculpture, several sculptures.
Patterns
- a sculpture of something
- a sculpture made of something
A bronze sculpture of a horse stands in the town square.
She made a small sculpture out of scrap wire.
Visitors walked around the huge stone sculpture to see it from every side.
noununcountable
The art or craft of making three-dimensional works.
Grammar: Uncountable when it names the art form: she studies sculpture.
Patterns
- study sculpture
- teach sculpture
He studied sculpture at art school for four years.
Greek sculpture influenced artists for centuries.
The gallery has a special room for modern sculpture.
verbtransitive or intransitiverare
To make something by carving or shaping a solid material.
Grammar: Takes an object: she sculpted the clay; or has none: he sculptures for a living.
Patterns
- sculpture something from something
The artist sculptured a fish from a single block of ice.
They sculptured the hillside into terraces.
Wind and water have sculptured the cliffs over millions of years.
Word forms
| plural | sculptures |
|---|---|
| third person singular | sculptures |
| past tense | sculptured |
| -ing form | sculpturing |
Common combinations
- bronze sculpture
- A bronze sculpture guards the library steps.
- marble sculpture
- The marble sculpture was carved in Italy.
- abstract sculpture
- An abstract sculpture twisted above the fountain.
- public sculpture
- The city commissioned a public sculpture for the park.
- sculpture garden
- We spent the afternoon in the sculpture garden.
- carve a sculpture
- He carved a sculpture from a block of limestone.
Synonyms and how they differ
- statue
- Statue is a figure of a person or animal, often life-size, while sculpture also includes abstract forms.
- carving
- Carving is made only by cutting away material, while a sculpture may be molded, cast or assembled.
- figurine
- Figurine is a small statue, usually decorative and handheld.
- installation
- An installation is a larger, often temporary, arrangement in a space, not a single object.
Word family
- sculptor noun
- a person who makes sculptures
- sculpt verb
- to make or shape a sculpture
- sculptural adjective
- like or relating to sculpture
- sculptress noun
- old-fashioned word for a female sculptor
Commonly confused: sculpture or sculptor? sculpture or statue?
sculpture vs sculptor
A sculptor is the person, while a sculpture is the work.
sculpture vs statue
A statue shows a recognizable figure; a sculpture can be any shape, including abstract.
Practice
The artist spent months shaping clay into a large ____ for the park.
Choose one answer.
After a large, the sentence needs a noun for the thing made, which is sculpture. Sculptor is the person, and sculptural and sculpting are the wrong form.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sculpture”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.