Carpenter
/ˈkɑːrpəntər/
nounB1
Definition
A carpenter is someone who works with wood to make or fix things. This can include building parts of houses, making doors, windows, furniture, or repairing wooden objects. Carpenters use tools like saws, hammers, and nails to do their work.
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See It in Action
A person who makes or repairs wooden objects or structures
- •The carpenter built a new wooden table for the kitchen.
- •We hired a carpenter to fix the broken door frame.
- •Carpenters often work on houses, making walls, floors, and roofs.
Sometimes used to describe a skilled woodworker in general
- •The carpenter crafted beautiful wooden chairs for the café.
- •He learned carpentry from his father, who was a skilled carpenter.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "carpenter" like "builder," but someone who works mainly with wood instead of all materials.
- ✓Picture a person in a workshop, measuring and cutting wood carefully to make a chair or a door.
- ✓It's the feeling of creating something useful with your hands, like making a small wooden box or fixing a broken table.
- ✓Sounds like "CAR-pen-ter" → imagine a car with wooden parts being fixed by a careful person.
- ✓Remember the story of Pinocchio, the wooden puppet made by a carpenter named Geppetto.
- ✓NOT like "painter" (works with colors and paint), a carpenter works with wood and tools.
- ✓NOT like "mason" (works with stone or bricks), a carpenter builds with wood.
- ✓NOT like "engineer" (plans buildings), a carpenter builds or fixes the wood parts.
Try Other Words
- •Joiner: a person who makes wooden parts, often more detailed or inside parts (Use when referring to fine woodwork like doors or windows)
- •Builder: a person who constructs buildings or parts of buildings (Use when talking about overall construction, not only wood)
- •Craftsman: a skilled worker who makes things by hand (Use when emphasizing skill and quality work)
Unboxing
- •Word parts: "carp-" (related to wood or carving) + "-enter" (agent suffix meaning "one who does")
- •Etymology: From Old French "carpentier," from Late Latin "carpentarius," meaning wagon maker or someone who works with wood
- •Historical development: Originally meant a maker of wagons or carts, expanded to anyone who works with wood in construction
- •Modern usage: Refers to anyone who builds or repairs wooden structures or furniture, common trade in construction and craft
Reflect & Connect
•How does a carpenter’s work affect the places where we live and work?
•What skills do you think are most important for a carpenter to have, and why?
Fill in the blanks
1.A carpenter uses tools like saws and hammers to ___ wooden parts of a house.
2.When the door was broken, we called a carpenter to ___ it quickly.
3.Unlike a painter, a carpenter works mainly with ___, not colors or paint.
4.A skilled carpenter can make furniture that is both strong and ___.
5.Carpenters often measure wood very carefully to make sure the pieces ___ perfectly.
6.If you want to build a wooden chair, you should ask a ___ for help.
7.The carpenter worked ___ to finish the wooden floor before the guests arrived.