Meaning & use
wood carver
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Meaning
nouncountable
A person who cuts and shapes figures or patterns out of wood, usually as a job or craft.
Grammar: Countable, so you can say 'a wood carver' or 'two wood carvers'.
Patterns
- a skilled wood carver
- work as a wood carver
The village wood carver made a small bear for our mantelpiece.
She trained as a wood carver after leaving art school.
Visitors can watch a wood carver at work in the old mill.
Word forms
| plural | wood carvers |
|---|
Common combinations
- a skilled wood carver
- The shop only sells pieces by skilled wood carvers.
- a traditional wood carver
- He learned his trade from a traditional wood carver in the mountains.
- work as a wood carver
- My uncle worked as a wood carver for thirty years.
- a wood carver's tools
- A wood carver's tools need sharpening often.
Synonyms and how they differ
- carver
- Shorter and more general; it can refer to someone who carves wood, stone, or meat, so use 'wood carver' when the material matters.
- woodworker
- A broader word for anyone who makes things from wood, including furniture makers who may never carve.
- whittler
- Suggests carving small objects with a knife as a hobby rather than as a professional craft.
Word family
Commonly confused: wood carver or woodcutter?
wood carver vs woodcutter
A woodcutter cuts down trees or chops firewood, while a wood carver shapes wood into decorative objects.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'wood carver' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A wood carver shapes wood into objects, so making bowls and animals fits. Cutting trees is a woodcutter, and metal gates or house painting have nothing to do with carving wood.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wood carver”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.