sculpture
- 01 B1 Intermediate
n.a three-dimensional work of art made by carving stone, casting metal, or shaping clay.
n.a three-dimensional work of art created by shaping or combining materials such as stone, metal, glass, or wood.
Simple“The museum has a famous bronze sculpture of a horse in the garden.”
In context“The contemporary sculpture was assembled from recycled industrial parts, challenging traditional notions of aesthetic value and material permanence.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.the art or practice of making three-dimensional objects.
n.the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions; the collective body of such works.
Simple“She decided to study sculpture because she enjoyed working with her hands.”
In context“Renaissance sculpture reached its peak with artists who mastered the anatomical precision of the human form in marble.”
Synonymsfine artplastic arts - 03 C2 Proficiency
n.the natural patterns or raised shapes on the surface of a shell or an animal's body.
n.the three-dimensional ornamentation or raised markings on the outer surface of a biological structure, such as a shell.
Simple“The scientist examined the delicate sculpture on the surface of the sea shell.”
In context“The taxonomic classification of these mollusks relies heavily on the intricate sculpture of the shell's exterior ridges.”
Synonyms - 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to make a figure or a shape out of a solid material.
v.to fashion, carve, or mould a material into a three-dimensional figure or design.
Simple“He used a small knife to sculpture a tiny bird out of a piece of wood.”
In context“The artist spent months attempting to sculpture the perfect likeness of the statesman from a single block of granite.”
- 05 C1 Advanced
v.when wind or water changes the shape of the land over a long time.
v.to change the physical features of a landscape through natural processes like erosion.
Simple“Over millions of years, the river helped to sculpture the deep canyon.”
In context“Glacial movements continued to sculpture the valley floor, leaving behind a distinctive U-shaped profile and scattered debris.”
From Middle English sculpture, from Old French sculpture, from Latin sculptūra (“sculpture”), from sculpō (“to cut out, to carve in stone”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.