What does "craft" mean?
Strength; power; might; force .
Craft
/kɹɑːft/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Strength; power; might; force .
- Grammar: craft is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: trade, ability, acrobatics, acuteness.
- Useful contrasts: amateur, break, clumsiness.
- Usage evidence: A painter only becomes a true painter by practicing his craft.
How to use "craft"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "craft" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "craft" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "craft" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "craft" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "craft" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "trade" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "craft", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Strength; power; might; force . obsolete, uncountable
"By the craft of nature."
- 2 the skilled practice of a practical occupation wordnet
- 3 Intellectual power; skill; art.; Ability, skillfulness, especially skill in making plans and carrying them into execution; dexterity in managing affairs, adroitness, practical cunning; ingenuity in constructing, dexterity . countable, uncountable
"The Cyclôpes were Brontês, Steropês, and Argês,—formidable persons, equally distinguished for strength and for manual craft […]"
- 4 a vehicle designed for navigation in or on water or air or through outer space wordnet
- 5 Intellectual power; skill; art.; Cunning, art, skill, or dexterity applied to bad purposes; artifice; guile; subtlety; shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception . countable, uncountable
"[…]and the chiefe Priests, and the Scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death."
Show 16 more definitions
- 6 shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception wordnet
- 7 Intellectual power; skill; art.; Occult art, magic . countable, obsolete, uncountable
- 8 skill in an occupation or trade wordnet
- 9 A work or product of art . countable, obsolete
- 10 people who perform a particular kind of skilled work wordnet
- 11 A work or product of art .; Handmade items, especially domestic or decorative objects; handicrafts . collective, countable, obsolete, plural, uncountable
"[Canton] has a large export trade in hand-made crafts, ivory and furniture."
- 12 A device, a means; a magical device, spell or enchantment . countable, obsolete
"For your entente I shall a craft devise […] That ye shall haue your purpose euery dele."
- 13 Learning of the schools, scholarship; a branch of learning or knowledge, a science, especially one of the ‘seven liberal arts’ of the medieval universities . countable, obsolete
"[…] Þe seuen craftes all he can […]"
- 14 Skill, skilfulness, art, especially the skill needed for a particular profession . uncountable
"The craft of writing plays."
- 15 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 . countable, plural
"The carpenter's craft."
- 16 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’ . countable
"She represented the craft of brewers."
- 17 A vehicle designed for navigation in or on water or air or through outer space . countable
"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."
- 18 A vehicle designed for navigation in or on water or air or through outer space .; 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. countable, uncountable
"Quite near could also be seen several ancient wooden warships, and always a variety of craft slipping up and down the tideway."
- 19 A vehicle designed for navigation in or on water or air or through outer space .; Those vessels attendant on a fleet, such as cutters, schooners, and gunboats, generally commanded by lieutenants. British-Royal-Navy, countable, uncountable
- 20 A vehicle designed for navigation in or on water or air or through outer space .; A woman. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"“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."
- 21 Implements used in catching fish, such as net, line, or hook. Modern use primarily in whaling, as in harpoons, hand-lances, etc. . countable
"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,[…]"
Verb
- 1 To make by hand and with much skill.
- 2 make by hand and with much skill wordnet
- 3 To construct, develop something (like a skilled craftsman).
"state crafting; the process of crafting global policing"
- 4 To combine multiple items to form a new item, such as armour or medicine.
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Antonyms
Example
"A painter only becomes a true painter by practicing his craft."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "craft"?
Common synonyms include: trade, ability, acrobatics, acuteness, address, adeptness.
How do you use "craft" in a sentence?
A painter only becomes a true painter by practicing his craft.
How do you pronounce "craft"?
Pronounced /kɹɑːft/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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 German Kraft (“strength, power, force, energy, employee”) and Danish kraft (“strength, power, force”).
Etymology 2
* 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.