craft

UK/ˈkɹɑːft/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Australia/ˈkɹäːft/

craft noun: strength; power; might; force .

Noun

craft (countable and uncountable, plural craft or crafts)

(obsolete, uncountable) Strength; power; might; force .
- By the craft of nature.1526, William Bonde, Pylgrimage of Perfection
Synonyms:

potence, strength, authority, disposition, force, might, potency, power, virtue
Ability, skillfulness, especially skill in making plans and carrying them into execution; dexterity in managing affairs, adroitness, practical cunning; ingenuity in constructing, dexterity .
- The Cyclôpes were Brontês, Steropês, and Argês,—formidable persons, equally distinguished for strength and for manual craft […]1846, George Grote, A history of Greece
- England should have had enough against a very ordinary Russia to complete the job but Rooney's removal robbed them of his craft and guidance and now increases the pressure on Thursday's meeting with Wales in Lens.2016 June 11, Phil McNulty, “England 1-1 Russia”, in BBC Sport
Synonyms:

technique, proficiency, ability, aptitude, capacity, capability, competency, competence, cunning, dexterity
Cunning, art, skill, or dexterity applied to bad purposes; artifice; guile; subtlety; shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception .
- […]and the chiefe Priests, and the Scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Mark 14:1
- […] you have that Crooked Wisdome, which is called Craft […]1651, Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme, & Power of a Common-wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civill, London: […] [William Wilson] for Andrew Crooke, […], →OCLC
Synonyms:

technique, proficiency, ability, aptitude, capacity, capability, competency, competence, cunning, dexterity
(obsolete) Occult art, magic .

Synonyms:

technique, proficiency, ability, aptitude, capacity, capability, competency, competence, cunning, dexterity
(countable, obsolete) A work or product of art .
1. (collective, obsolete, plural) Handmade items, especially domestic or decorative objects; handicrafts .
  - [Canton] has a large export trade in hand-made crafts, ivory and furniture.1911 January, Timberman
(countable, obsolete) A device, a means; a magical device, spell or enchantment .
- For your entente I shall a craft devise […] That ye shall haue your purpose euery dele.c. 1440, Generydes. A royal historie of the excellent knight Generides
Synonyms:

charm, talisman, dwimmer, hex, amulet, fetish, juju, lucky charm, madstone, mascot
(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 .
- […] Þe seuen craftes all he can […]a. 1325, Cursor Mundi, page 272
(uncountable) Skill, skilfulness, art, especially the skill needed for a particular profession .
- The craft of writing plays.
- A poem […] is the work of the poet; the end and fruit of his labour and study. Poesy is his skill or craft of making; the very fiction itself, the reason or form of the work.1640, Ben Jonson, Timber: or Discoveries made upon Men and Matter, page 213
Synonyms:

craftsmanship, workmanship
(countable, plural) 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 .
- The carpenter's craft.
- He learned his craft as an apprentice.
Synonyms:

art, trade, handicraft, business, profession
(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’ .
- She represented the craft of brewers.
(countable, plural craft) A vehicle designed for navigation in or on water or air or through outer space .
- Thanks to British designer Ross Kemp, the world has been graced with a solar-powered watercraft that costs just a third of the price of your average powered water craft.2013 August 6, Monique Rivilland, “This ski and surf combo could save your life”, in CNN Business, archived from the original on 18 Feb 2015
1. (plural craft) 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.
  - Quite near could also be seen several ancient wooden warships, and always a variety of craft slipping up and down the tideway.1951 October, R. S. McNaught, “Lines of Approach”, in Railway Magazine, page 705
2. (British-Royal-Navy, plural craft) Those vessels attendant on a fleet, such as cutters, schooners, and gunboats, generally commanded by lieutenants.
3. (figuratively, plural craft) A woman.
  - “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.1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC
(countable) Implements used in catching fish, such as net, line, or hook. Modern use primarily in whaling, as in harpoons, hand-lances, etc. .
- And whereas the continual Interruption of the Courſe and Paſſage of the Fiſh up the Rivers, by the daily drawing of Seins and other Fiſh-Craft, tends to prevent their Increaſe,[…]a. 1784, T. Green, “An Act for encouraging and regulating Fiſheries”, in Acts and Laws of the State of Connecticut, in America, page 79
- The whaling craft consists of harpoons, lances, lines, and sealskin buoys, all of their own workmanship.1869 April 27, C. M. Scammon, “On the Cetaceans of the Western Coast of North America”, in Edward D. Cope, editor, Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, volume 21, page 46

Verb

craft (third-person singular simple present crafts, present participle crafting, simple past and past participle crafted)

To make by hand and with much skill.
To construct, develop something (like a skilled craftsman).
- state crafting; the process of crafting global policing
To combine multiple items to form a new item, such as armour or medicine.

Proper noun capitalized: Craft

Craft

A surname.

craft meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

craft in Hindi

craft, skill, art: शिल्प śilp
to craft, forge, form: गढ़ना gaṛhnā
craft: जहाज़ jahāz

craft in Tamil

கைத்திறத் தொழில், கைத்தொழில், கைவினை, சிறு மரக்கலன், சிறு மரக்கலம், சிறுகலன்

craft in Marathi

a craft, art, or technique of making or creating something: शिल्प śilpa

craft in Urdu

craft: جہاز jahāz

More languagesFewer languages

craft in Bengali: নৈপুণ্য, শঠতা, ধূর্ততা, শিল্প
craft in Telugu: తంతు tantu
craft in Malayalam: സൃഷ്ടിക്കുക sr̥ṣṭikkuka, പണിയുക paṇiyuka
craft in Kannada: ಚೆಚ್ಚರಿಕೆಯ ಕೆಲಸ, ಜಾಣ್ಮೆಯ ಕೆಲಸ, ಚುರುಕಿನ ಕೆಲಸ, ಹಡಗು
craft in Gujarati: તરાપો tarāpo
craft in Sanskrit: शिल्प śilpá
craft in Sinhala: දඟය daⁿgaya
craft in Arabic: حِرْفَة ḥirfa, صَنْعَة ṣanʕa

Examples of craft in a sentence

We have not the strength with which to fight this man; we must dissimulate, and win, if win we can, by craft.1904, Jack London, The Sea-Wolf (Macmillan’s Standard Library), New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC:
It is counted […] good workmanship in a Joyner, to have the craft of bearing his hand so curiously even, the whole length of a long Board.1678, Joseph Moxon, Mechanick exercises, or The doctrine of handy-works:
[…] For since the birth of time, throughout all ages and nations, / Has the craft of the smith been held in repute by the people.1847, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie, page 281:
Fond as William was of the craft of the woods, he was the least likely of all men to let his sport stand in the way of his interest.1871, Edward Augustus Freeman, The history of the Norman conquest, page 250:

All 40 example sentences with craft

Synonyms of craft

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of craft

Forms of craft

Noun
plural	craft
plural	crafts
Verb
third-person singular present	crafts
present participle	crafting
past participle	crafted
past	crafted
Proper noun
alternative form	Kraft

Past tense of craft: crafted

Plural of craft: craft or crafts

Origin of craft

Inherited from Middle English craft (“strength, skill”), from Old English cræft (“strength, skill”), from Proto-West Germanic *kraftu, from Proto-Germanic *kraftuz (“strength, power”); further origin obscure. Cognate with Dutch kracht (“strength, power, force”), German Kraft (“strength, power, force, energy, employee”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish kraft (“strength, power, force”), Faroese and Icelandic kraftur (“strength”).

* As an English surname, from the noun craft. * Also as an English surname, from Croft in Leicestershire. * As a German, Jewish, Danish, and Swedish surname, Americanized from Kraft.

Phrases with craft

1 more phrasesFewer phrases

personal water craft

Words that rhyme with craft

Questions about craft

What does craft mean?: Craft means strength; power; might; force .
What is craft in Hindi?: Craft in Hindi is शिल्प (śilp), गढ़ना (gaṛhnā), जहाज़ (jahāz). See Craft meaning in Hindi.
How do you use craft in a sentence?: We have not the strength with which to fight this man; we must dissimulate, and win, if win we can, by craft.
What part of speech is craft?: Craft can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce craft?: Craft is pronounced /ˈkɹɑːft/ (UK).
What is the plural of craft?: The plural of craft is craft.

Words near craft in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “craft.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/craft. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.