Meaning & use
stonemason
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Meaning
nouncountable
A skilled worker who cuts and shapes stone and builds things from it, such as walls, monuments, or decorative parts of buildings.
Grammar: A person noun; it takes a plural and can be used with 'a' or 'the'. Say 'a stonemason', not 'a stonemasonry'.
Patterns
- work as a stonemason
- a stonemason who builds something
- hire a stonemason
The old cathedral was repaired by a team of stonemasons from the region.
My uncle trained as a stonemason and now carves gravestones.
A good stonemason can shape a block so precisely that no mortar is needed.
Word forms
| plural | stonemasons |
|---|
Common combinations
- skilled stonemason
- Only a skilled stonemason could restore the carved arch.
- work as a stonemason
- She worked as a stonemason for twenty years before teaching.
- stonemason's tools
- The chisel and mallet are a stonemason's tools.
- apprentice stonemason
- He started as an apprentice stonemason at sixteen.
Synonyms and how they differ
- mason
- Shorter and more general; in British English it usually means the same worker, but in American English it can also mean someone who works with brick or concrete.
- stonecutter
- Focuses on cutting stone rather than building with it, so it is narrower than stonemason.
Word family
- masonry noun
- The work or craft of building with stone, or the stone structure itself.
- masonic adjective
- Relating to freemasonry, not to the building trade, so be careful.
Commonly confused: stonemason or mason? stonemason or bricklayer?
stonemason vs mason
In the US, 'mason' often means a worker who builds with brick or concrete, while a stonemason works specifically with stone.
stonemason vs bricklayer
A bricklayer builds with bricks; a stonemason builds with stone, and the two trades need different skills.
Practice
The monument was restored by a ______ who carved the letters by hand.
Choose one answer.
'Stonemason' is the person who does this skilled stonework. 'Masonry' is the craft or the stone itself, not a person; 'bricklayer' works with bricks; 'stonecutter' is possible but narrower and less common for restoring a monument.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “stonemason”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.