SCULPTURE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does sculpture mean? 

• SCULPTURE (noun)
  The noun SCULPTURE has 2 senses:

1. a three-dimensional work of plastic art

2. creating figures or designs in three dimensions

  Familiarity information: SCULPTURE used as a noun is rare.

• SCULPTURE (verb)
  The verb SCULPTURE has 2 senses:

1. create by shaping stone or wood or any other hard material

2. shape (a material like stone or wood) by whittling away at it

  Familiarity information: SCULPTURE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SCULPTURE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A three-dimensional work of plastic art

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("sculpture" is a kind of...):

plastic art (the arts of shaping or modeling; carving and sculpture)

solid figure; three-dimensional figure (a three-dimensional shape)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sculpture"):

bronze (a sculpture made of bronze)

bust (a sculpture of the head and shoulders of a person)

carving (a sculpture created by removing material (as wood or ivory or stone) in order to create a desired shape)

marble (a sculpture carved from marble)

mobile (sculpture suspended in midair whose delicately balanced parts can be set in motion by air currents)

clay sculpture; modeling; mold; molding; mould; moulding (sculpture produced by molding)

embossment; relief; relievo; rilievo; sculptural relief (sculpture consisting of shapes carved on a surface so as to stand out from the surrounding background)

stabile (a sculpture having fixed units (usually constructed of sheet metal) and attached to a fixed support)

statue (a sculpture representing a human or animal)

Derivation:

sculpt (shape (a material like stone or wood) by whittling away at it)

sculpt (create by shaping stone or wood or any other hard material)

sculptural (resembling sculpture)

sculptural (relating to or consisting of sculpture)

sculpture (shape (a material like stone or wood) by whittling away at it)

sculpture (create by shaping stone or wood or any other hard material)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Creating figures or designs in three dimensions

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

carving; sculpture

Hypernyms ("sculpture" is a kind of...):

beaux arts; fine arts (the study and creation of visual works of art)

art; artistic creation; artistic production (the creation of beautiful or significant things)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sculpture"):

modeling; modelling; molding; moulding (a preliminary sculpture in wax or clay from which a finished work can be copied)

Derivation:

sculpt (shape (a material like stone or wood) by whittling away at it)

sculpt (create by shaping stone or wood or any other hard material)

sculpture (shape (a material like stone or wood) by whittling away at it)

sculpture (create by shaping stone or wood or any other hard material)

• SCULPTURE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they sculpture    ... he / she / it sculptures   
Past simple: sculptured   
Past participle: sculptured   
-ing form: sculpturing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Create by shaping stone or wood or any other hard material

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Synonyms:

sculpt; sculpture

Context example:

sculpt a swan out of a block of ice

Hypernyms (to "sculpture" is one way to...):

forge; form; mold; mould; shape; work (make something, usually for a specific function)

Verb group:

grave; sculpt; sculpture (shape (a material like stone or wood) by whittling away at it)

Domain category:

art; artistic creation; artistic production (the creation of beautiful or significant things)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

Did he sculpture his major works over a short period of time?

Derivation:

sculpture (creating figures or designs in three dimensions)

sculpture (a three-dimensional work of plastic art)

sculpturer (an artist who creates sculptures)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Shape (a material like stone or wood) by whittling away at it

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

grave; sculpt; sculpture

Context example:

She is sculpting the block of marble into an image of her husband

Hypernyms (to "sculpture" is one way to...):

carve (form by carving)

Verb group:

sculpt; sculpture (create by shaping stone or wood or any other hard material)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

sculpture (creating figures or designs in three dimensions)

sculpture (a three-dimensional work of plastic art)

sculpturer (an artist who creates sculptures)

 Context examples 

Here, in a broad thoroughfare, once the abode of wealthy City merchants, we found the sculpture works for which we searched.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

You may be working on an project that you are passionate about, such as one involving music, poetry, literature, sculpture, dance, or another artistic discipline.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

And so with the stage, with sculpture, with opera, with every art form.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

"And it seems to me," Martin continued, "that knowledge of the land question, in turn, of all questions, for that matter, cannot be had without previous knowledge of the stuff and the constitution of life. How can we understand laws and institutions, religions and customs, without understanding, not merely the nature of the creatures that made them, but the nature of the stuff out of which the creatures are made? Is literature less human than the architecture and sculpture of Egypt? Is there one thing in the known universe that is not subject to the law of evolution? Oh, I know there is an elaborate evolution of the various arts laid down, but it seems to me to be too mechanical. The human himself is left out. The evolution of the tool, of the harp, of music and song and dance, are all beautifully elaborated; but how about the evolution of the human himself, the development of the basic and intrinsic parts that were in him before he made his first tool or gibbered his first chant? It is that which you do not consider, and which I call biology. It is biology in its largest aspects.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)