artist

American  

[ahr-tist] / ˈɑr tɪst /

noun

1. a person who produces works in any of the arts that are primarily subject to aesthetic criteria.

2. a person who practices one of the fine arts, especially a painter or sculptor.

3. a person whose trade or profession requires a knowledge of design, drawing, painting, etc..

   a commercial artist.

4. 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.

5. a person whose work exhibits exceptional skill.

6. a person who is expert at trickery or deceit.

   He's an artist with cards.

7. Obsolete. an artisan.

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artist British  

/ ˈɑːtɪst /

noun

1. a person who practises or is skilled in an art, esp painting, drawing, or sculpture

2. a person who displays in his work qualities required in art, such as sensibility and imagination

3. a person whose profession requires artistic expertise, esp a designer

   a commercial artist

4. a person skilled in some task or occupation

   an artist at bricklaying

5. obsolete an artisan

6. slang a person devoted to or proficient in something

   a booze artist

   a con artist

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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."

Example Sentences

"Adam always knew what he wanted to do, always, and I used to look for that in an artist," he said.

From BBC • May 2, 2026

"We just started this back in the day, as a hobby... we kind of want to grow organically," said brew group member Sasan Oskouei, a visual artist.

From Barron's • May 2, 2026

As AI avatars and music continue to break through on social media and streaming platforms, the marker is meant to be a more reliable signal that an artist is human.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

And no one could question the skill and scrupulosity with which the artist rendered the delicate tones of the distant mountains, the clouds, the subtropical foliage.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

She had curly hair and a paintbrush in one hand and one of those wooden things artist people put their thumbs through that has all the colors of paint on it.

From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff

Related Words

• artisan
• composer
• expert
• inventor
• painter