craft

(krăft)
n.

1. Skill in doing or making something, as in the arts; proficiency. See synonyms at art¹.
2. Skill in evasion or deception; guile.
3. 1. An occupation or trade requiring manual dexterity or skilled artistry.
   2. The membership of such an occupation or trade; guild.
4. pl., craft. A boat, ship, or aircraft.

tr.v., craft·ed, craft·ing, crafts.

1. To make by hand.
2. Usage Problem. To make or construct (something) in a manner suggesting great care or ingenuity: "It was not the Chamber of Commerce that crafted the public policies that have resulted in a $26 billion annual subvention to the farmers" (William F. Buckley, Jr.).

[Middle English, from Old English cræft.]

crafter craft'er n.

USAGE NOTE   Craft has been used as a verb since the Old English period and was used in Middle English to refer specifically to the artful construction of a text or discourse. In recent years, crafted, the past participle of craft, has enjoyed a vogue as a participle referring to well-wrought writing. Craft is more acceptable when applied to literary works than to other sorts of writing, and more acceptable as a participle than as a verb. Seventy-three percent of the Usage Panel accepts the phrase beautifully crafted prose. By contrast, only 35 percent accept the sentence The planners crafted their proposal so as to anticipate the objections of local businesses.

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has been revived as a verb in the language of advertising (bungalows of locally crafted brick and tile) and in literary and other criticism

(He had by then perfected the swagger of the Identikit newspaper tycoon and had crafted his performance beautifully—Independent on Sunday, 2005).

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noun

1. Natural or acquired facility in a specific activity: ability, adeptness, art, command, expertise, expertness, knack, mastery, proficiency, skill, technique. Informal know-how. See ability/inability, knowledge/ignorance.
2. Deceitful cleverness: art, artfulness, artifice, craftiness, cunning, foxiness, guile, slyness, wiliness. See honest/dishonest, means.
3. Lack of straightforwardness and honesty in action: chicanery, craftiness, deviousness, dishonesty, indirection, shadiness, shiftiness, slyness, sneakiness, trickery, trickiness, underhandedness. See honest/dishonest.
4. Activity pursued as a livelihood: art, business, calling, career, employment, job, line, métier, occupation, profession, pursuit, trade, vocation, work. Slang racket. Archaic employ. See action/inaction.

n

Definition: business, discipline
Antonyms: avocation, entertainment, recreation

n

Definition: deceit, scheme
Antonyms: honesty, openness

Quotes:

"A man cannot make a pair of shoes rightly unless he do it in a devout manner." - Thomas Carlyle

"The irregular and intimate quality of things made entirely by the human hand." - Willa Cather

"History repeats itself, but the special call of an art which has passed away is never reproduced. It is as utterly gone out of the world as the song of a destroyed wild bird." - Joseph Conrad

"It is the privilege of any human work which is well done to invest the doer with a certain haughtiness. He can well afford not to conciliate, whose faithful work will answer for him." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Let a human being throw the energies of his soul into the making of something, and the instinct of workmanship will take care of his honesty." - Walter Lippmann

"No man who is occupied in doing a very difficult thing, and doing it very well, ever loses his self-respect." - George Bernard Shaw

See more famous quotes about Crafts

For a list of words related to craft, see:

• Types of Ships and Boats - craft: boat or vessel, esp. small one
• Labor - craft: occupation requiring special training or skill
• Other Crafts - craft: any art, trade, or occupation requiring the skilled working of materials to form decorative or useful objects, often practiced as a recreational activity; handicraft
• Strategy and Tactics - craft: skill or cunning in achieving ends or deceiving others

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See words rhyming with "craft."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Craft.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - evne, fag, kunst, færdighed, fartøj, fly, rumfartøj, snuhed
v. tr. - udforme, forfærdige, komponere

idioms:

• craft fair    udstilling af kunsthåndværk

Nederlands (Dutch)
ambacht, listigheid, vaardigheid, vaar-/ vliegtuig, bedrijfstak, de vrijmetselarij, vervaardigen

Français (French)
n. - métier, art, artisanat, ruse, embarcation, (Aérosp) vaisseau spatial
v. tr. - faire (qch) à la main

idioms:

• craft fair    foire artisanale

Deutsch (German)
n. - Boot, Flugzeug, Gewerbe, Kunst, Handwerk, List
v. - (gekonnt) herstellen

idioms:

• craft fair    Kunsthandwerksmesse

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - δεξιοτεχνία, μαστοριά, τέχνη, χειροτεχνία, πανουργία, κατεργαριά, σκάφος, συντεχνία, συνάφι
v. - τεχνουργώ, κατεργάζομαι

idioms:

• craft fair    έκθεση χειροτεχνίας/χειροτεχνημάτων

Italiano (Italian)
imbarcazione, mestiere, astuzia

idioms:

• craft fair    fiera dell'artigianato

Português (Portuguese)
n. - arte (f), astúcia (f), ofício (m)
v. - pregar peças

idioms:

• craft fair    feira (f) de artesanato

Русский (Russian)
судно, ремесло, хитрость

idioms:

• craft fair    ярмарка

Español (Spanish)
n. - embarcación, navío, arte, trabajo manual, oficio
v. tr. - realizar un oficio o manualidad

idioms:

• craft fair    feria de artesanías

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - skicklighet, hantverk, slöjd, skrå, list, fartyg
v. - snitsa till, snickra till

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
技艺, 诡计, 手艺, 精巧地制作

idioms:

• craft fair    工艺展览

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 技藝, 詭計, 手藝
v. tr. - 精巧地製作

idioms:

• craft fair    工藝展覽

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 기술, 교묘함, 직업, 동업
v. tr. - 정교하게 만들다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 技能, 技術, 手工業, 職業, 同業者, 船舶, 狡猾, 同業組合
v. - 手で作る

idioms:

• craft fair    クラフト祭

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) حرفه, صنعه, مركب, قارب, مكر (فعل) صنع باليد, نحت‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אומנות, אגוד מקצועי, ספינה, מטוס, ערמומיות‬
v. tr. - ‮עשה בדרך מיומנת‬

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