/kɑ:v; kɑrv/
v
1 (a) [I, Ipr, Tn, Tn.pr] ~ (in sth); ~ sth (out of/from/of/in sth) form (sth) by cutting away material from wood or stone 雕刻; 雕刻成（某物）
*Michelangelo carved in marble. 米开朗琪罗在大理石上雕刻.
* The statue was carved (out of stone). 这座像是（用石头）雕刻的.
(b) [Tn, Tn.pr] ~ sth (into sth) cut or chip (solid material) in order to form sth 切, 削, 凿或刻（成某物）
*carve wood 削木头.
2 [Tn, Tn.pr] inscribe (sth) by cutting on a surface 刻记（某事物）
*carve one's initials on a tree trunk 在树干上刻自己名字的缩写字母.
3 [I, Tn, Dn.n, Dn.pr] ~ sth (for sb) cut (cooked meat) into slices for eating 把（熟肉）切成片供食用
*Would you like to carve? 你喜欢切片吃吗?
* carve a joint, turkey, leg of mutton, etc 切肉、火鸡、羊腿等
* Please carve me another slice. 请再给我切一片.
4 (phr v) carve sth out (for oneself) build (one's career, reputation, etc) by hard work 靠勤奋创（业）或树（名声）等
*She carved out a name for herself as a reporter. 她靠苦干而成了有名的记者. carve sth up (infml 口) divide sth into parts or slices 将某物分割成份或片; 瓜分
*The territory was carved up by the occupying powers. 领土被侵占者瓜分.

v

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1【make object or pattern】
2【cut something into a surface】
3【cut meat】
4【job/position/life】
5【water/wind】
6【reduce something】
Phrasal verbs
　carve somebody/something⇔up

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[Language: Old English;Origin: ceorfan]
【MAKE OBJECT OR PATTERN】 [T]
to make an object or pattern by cutting a piece of wood or stone
→carvingcarve sth out of/from sth
　a statue carved from a single block of marble
　carved wooden chairs
【CUT SOMETHING INTO A SURFACE】 [T]
to cut a pattern or letter on the surface of something
carve sth on/in/into sth
　Someone had carved their initials on the tree.
【CUT MEAT】 [I and T]
to cut a large piece of cooked meat into smaller pieces using a knife
　Carve the meat into slices.
　Who's going to carve?
【JOB/POSITION/LIFE】 [T]
alsocarve out
to succeed in getting the job, position, life etc that you want
　He had carved a niche for himself as a photographer.
　She carved out a very successful career in the film industry.
　He moved to San Francisco to carve out a new life for himself.
【WATER/WIND】 [T]
if a river, the wind etc carves land or rock, it removes some of it
　The river had carved channels in the limestone rock.
→not be carved in stoneatstone¹ (9)
【REDUCE SOMETHING】 [T always + adverb/preposition]
to reduce the size of something by removing some of it
carve sth from sth
　The company carved $1 million from its budget.
carve up [carve sb/sth⇔up] phr v
to divide land, a company etc into smaller parts and share it between people - used especially to show disapproval
　The Ottoman Empire was carved up by Britain and France after World War I.
　The two companies are attempting to carve up a large slice of America's publishing industry between them.
BrE informal to drive past someone in a car and then suddenly move in front of them so that you are too close