carve

verb

ˈkärv 

carved; carving

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

Synonyms

• sculpt
• sculpture

Examples of carve in a Sentence

We carved an ice sculpture.

Who is going to carve the turkey?

He carved while I made the gravy.

Recent Examples on the Web

Avoiding those problems, Feinberg carved out a niche as a distressed investor, less politely referred to as a vulture, who knew how to find meat on the bones of decaying businesses. —Dan Alexander, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025

The reliefs are nearly life-size, officials said, and carved into a wall of stone belonging to a monumental tomb. —Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2025

As researchers write in the park’s digital magazine, the sculptures were likely carved during Rome’s Late Republican period (between the second and first century B.C.E.). —Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2025

Carnivores, meanwhile, can carve into filets, N.Y. strips and ribeyes as well as Berkshire pork in a sherry reduction and double-bone lamb chops in roasted garlic-thyme jus. —Rod Stafford Hagwood, Sun Sentinel, 1 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English kerven, from Old English ceorfan; akin to Old High German kerban to notch, Greek graphein to scratch, write

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing carve

• carve up

Rhymes for carve

• starve

Kids Definition

carve

verb

ˈkärv 

carved; carving

1

: to cut with care or exactness

2

: to cut into pieces or slices

3

: to cut up and serve meat

carver noun