carve

Word family

Related topics: Sculpture, Cooking

carve /kɑːv $ kɑːrv/ verb → calve

1 make object or pattern 雕刻物件或图案 [transitiveT]AVS to make an object or pattern by cutting a piece of wood or stone 雕，刻 → carving

carve something out of/from something

a statue carved from a single block of marble

独块大理石雕成的雕像

carved wooden chairs

木雕椅子

2 cut STH into a surface 把某物刻在表面上 [transitiveT]CUT to cut a pattern or letter on the surface of something 刻〔图形或字母〕

carve something on/in/into something

Someone had carved their initials on the tree.

有人将自己姓名的首字母刻在树上。

3 cut meat 切肉 [intransitiveI, transitiveT]DFC to cut a large piece of cooked meat into smaller pieces using a knife 把〔熟肉〕切成小块；〔从熟肉上〕割下薄片

Carve the meat into slices.

把肉切成片。

Who’s going to carve?

谁来切肉？

► see thesaurus at cut

4 job/position/life 工作/职务/生活 [transitiveT] (also carve out) to succeed in getting the job, position, life etc that you want 成功获得〔所要的工作、职务、生活等〕

He carved a niche for himself as a writer.

他成功当了一名作家。

She carved out a successful career in the film industry.

她在电影界创出了成功的事业。

He moved to Boston to carve out a new life for himself.

他搬到波士顿去展开新的生活。

5 water/wind 水/风 [transitiveT] if a river, the wind etc carves land or rock, it removes some of it 冲刷；侵蚀

The river had carved channels in the limestone rock.

河水在石灰岩上冲刷出了一条条水道。

→ not be carved in stone at stone1(9)

6 reduce STH 减少某物 [transitiveT always + adverbadv/prepositionprep] to reduce the size of something by removing some of it 减少，削减

carve something from something

The company carved $1 million from its budget.

公司从预算中削减了100万美元。

7 carve somebody/something ↔ up phrasal verbphr v

a) to divide land, a company etc into smaller parts and share it between people – used especially to show disapproval 瓜分，分割〔含贬义〕

The Ottoman Empire was carved up by Britain and France after World War I.

奥斯曼帝国在第一次世界大战后被英、法两国瓜分了。

The two companies are attempting to carve up a large slice of America’s publishing industry between them.

这两家公司企图瓜分美国出版业中的一大块肥肉。

b) British EnglishBrE informal to drive past a car and then suddenly move in front of it so that you are too close 快速超车，快速切入别人的行车线

Examples from the Corpus

carve up• They would carve the world up into principalities and then there would be war again.

Examples from the Corpus

carve• The bust was mutilated in late antiquity, probably by Christians who carved a cross in the forehead.• What's the best way to carve a turkey?• Who's going to carve, Dad or Grandpa?• This plywood structure has grown bigger and bigger, and he has even carved gothic spires on its top.• Shapes of naked half-men half-beasts writhing in some hideous dance were carved on to the mahogany chair.• Her son holding his head beside the big carved pumpkin, mimicking a wide, toothy grin.• In Fujian, workers are carving roads into red clay hills, scaling bamboo scaffolding, hauling piles of stone.• Who's going to carve the turkey?• Michelangelo carved this figure from a single block of marble.• I am lying in the cornfield gazing at clouds being carved up by harp-edged leaves above me.• You start carving while I fetch the vegetables.

carved out ... career• Through hard work and sheer determination, Dennis carved out a career in the building industry.

Origin carve

Old English ceorfan

carve verb

Chinese

Corpus