weaver
1 Americannoun
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James Baird, 1833–1912, U.S. politician: congressman 1879–81, 1885–89.
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Robert Clifton, 1907–97, U.S. economist and government official: first Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 1966–68.
noun
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a person who weaves, esp as a means of livelihood
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short for weaverbird
Etymology
Origin of weaver
First recorded in 1325–75, weaver is from the Middle English word wevere. See weave, -er 1
Explanation
A person who makes fabric by weaving fiber together is a weaver. Most weavers use a loom, a device that holds the threads tightly as they're being woven. A craft weaver works by hand, weaving without a loom, but most weavers use either a hand loom or a power loom. This more mechanized type of loom was invented in the 1780s, and it made the work less physically taxing for weavers. The Proto-Indo-European root of weaver is also the source of the Sanskrit word ubhnati, "he laces together" and the Greek word hyphe, or "web."
Vocabulary lists containing weaver
Name That Job: Occupational Last Names
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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.
Shadrack Yao Agboli, a fugu weaver who also works with the National Commission on Culture, has a home workshop where long bands of hand-loomed fabric hang to dry in the afternoon sun.
From Barron's • Feb. 13, 2026
One diarist, Samuel Bamford, gave up a warehouse job to become a weaver and wrote that the change gave him leisure time to enjoy “country amusements with the other young fellows.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 2025
As a former production weaver who churned out a line of unisex sweaters she sold through the American Craft Council, Schwartzenberger understands the meditative qualities of weaving.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 23, 2025
Like Shiv Johri Patel the saree weaver, many people here were angry at local officials - but not at the prime minister.
From BBC • May 16, 2024
A pair of scissors for a tailor, a gold lamb for a wool weaver, a basin for a barber, a painted wooden book for a bookbinder, a large swinging compass for an instrument- maker.
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
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.
