craft
see also: Craft
Pronunciation
  • (RP) IPA: /kɹɑːft/
  • (America) IPA: /kɹæft/
Noun

craft

  1. (uncountable, obsolete) Strength; power; might; force [9th century].
  2. (uncountable) Intellectual power; skill; art.
    1. Ability, skilfulness, especially skill in making plans and carrying them into execution; dexterity in managing affairs, adroitness, practical cunning; ingenuity in constructing, dexterity [9th century].
    2. Cunning, art, skill, or dexterity applied to bad purposes; artifice; guile; subtlety; shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception [13th century].
      • 1611, Bible (King James), Gospel of Mark xiv.1:
        The chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death.
      Synonyms: craftiness, cunning, foxiness, guile, slyness, wiliness
    3. (obsolete) Occult art, magic [13th century].
  3. (countable, obsolete in the general sense) A work or product of art [c. 1000].
    1. (collective or plural) Handmade items, especially domestic or decorative objects; handicrafts [20th century].
  4. (countable, obsolete) A device, a means; a magical device, spell or enchantment [13th century].
  5. (countable, obsolete) Learning of the schools, scholarship; a branch of learning or knowledge, a science, especially one of the ‘seven liberal arts’ of the medieval universities [13th century].
  6. (uncountable) Skill, skilfulness, art, especially the skill needed for a particular profession [9th century].
    The craft of writing plays.
    Synonyms: craftsmanship, workmanship
  7. (countable, plural crafts) A branch of skilled work or trade, especially one requiring manual dexterity or artistic skill, but sometimes applied equally to any business, calling or profession; the skilled practice of a practical occupation [since the 9th century].
    The carpenter's craft.
    He learned his craft as an apprentice.
    Synonyms: art, trade, handicraft, business, profession
  8. (countable) A trade or profession as embodied in its practitioners collectively; the members of a trade or handicraft as a body; an association of these; a trade's union, guild, or ‘company[15th century].
    She represented the craft of brewers.
  9. (countable, plural craft) A vehicle designed for navigation in or on water or air or through outer space [since the 17th century].
    1. (nautical) Boats, especially of smaller size than ships. Historically primarily applied to vessels engaged in loading or unloading of other vessels, as lighters, hoys, and barges.
    2. (nautical, British Royal Navy) Those vessels attendant on a fleet, such as cutters, schooners, and gun-boats, generally commanded by lieutenants.
    3. (figurative) A woman.
      • 1907, Robert William Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, OCLC 24962326 ↗:
        “A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; and she looked it, always trim and trig and smooth of surface like a converted yacht cleared for action.
  10. (countable, fishing) Implements used in catching fish, such as net, line, or hook. Modern use primarily in whaling, as in harpoons, hand-lances, etc. [17th century].
Translations Translations
  • German: Schlauheit, Durchtriebenheit, Gerissenheit
  • Portuguese: engenhosidade
  • Russian: хи́трость
Translations Translations Translations Verb

craft (crafts, present participle crafting; past and past participle crafted)

  1. To make by hand and with much skill.
  2. To construct, develop something (like a skilled craftsman).
    state crafting; the process of crafting global policing
  3. (video games) To combine multiple items to form a new item, such as armour or medicine.
Translations Translations
Craft
Proper noun
  1. Surname



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