artist
Americannoun
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a person who produces works in any of the arts that are primarily subject to aesthetic criteria.
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a person who practices one of the fine arts, especially a painter or sculptor.
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a person whose trade or profession requires a knowledge of design, drawing, painting, etc..
a commercial artist.
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a person who works in one of the performing arts, as an actor, musician, or singer; a public performer.
a mime artist; an artist of the dance.
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a person whose work exhibits exceptional skill.
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a person who is expert at trickery or deceit.
He's an artist with cards.
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Obsolete. an artisan.
noun
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a person who practises or is skilled in an art, esp painting, drawing, or sculpture
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a person who displays in his work qualities required in art, such as sensibility and imagination
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a person whose profession requires artistic expertise, esp a designer
a commercial artist
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a person skilled in some task or occupation
an artist at bricklaying
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obsolete an artisan
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slang a person devoted to or proficient in something
a booze artist
a con artist
Related Words
Artist, artisan, artiste are persons having superior skill or ability, or who are capable of producing superior work. An artist is a person engaged in some type of fine art. An artisan is engaged in a craft or applied art. An artiste is usually a skilled public performer.
Etymology
Origin of artist
First recorded in 1575–85; from Middle French artiste, from Medieval Latin artista “master of arts”; equivalent to art 1 + -ist
Explanation
An artist is someone whose life's work — or passionate hobby — focuses on some creative enterprise. If you love to paint portraits of your dog, you are an artist. People who make films, write short stories, or build beautiful dollhouses are all artists. Doing anything that involves creativity and imagination, especially if it yields some finished project, is being an artist. Sometimes people use the word for someone who's great at what she does, or who uses extra flair or originality: "That barista is a total artist — look, she made my latte foam look like a hedgehog!" The Latin root is ars, or "art."
Vocabulary lists containing artist
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Despite the current trend, Tajik mosaic artist Dzhuraev wants to believe that "the time will come" when mosaics will once again adorn buildings.
From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026
In 1988, he and his second wife, Alice Yelen Gitter, discovered Sister Gertrude Morgan, a self-taught artist and Christian street preacher whose paintings sometimes interpreted the Bible’s Book of Revelation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
Local drag artist Adam Carver, also known as Fatt Butcher, plays the quick-witted sprite Puck, and admitted that they brought some of their drag persona to the role.
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
Gitter raised the money by selling a set of prints by the French artist Georges Rouault, which he had bought a few years earlier with money received as a wedding gift.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
“Are you an artist like Connor?” he asked.
From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
