carpenter
car·pen·ter/ˈkɑɹpəntɚ/noun, verb
carpenter is spelled C-A-R-P-E-N-T-E-R: 9 letters and 3 syllables (car·pen·ter). It appears 6.5 times per million words in written English, the 9,463rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, carpenter means “A person skilled at carpentry, the trade of cutting and joining timber in order to construct buildings or other structures” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of carpenter is carpenters.
How many letters and syllables are in carpenter?
| Letters | 9: C-A-R-P-E-N-T-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: car·pen·ter |
| In writing | 6.5 times per million words; the 9,463rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is carpenter?
Carpenter appears 6.5 times per million words in written English, the 9,463rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce carpenter?
- UK /ˈkɑː.pən.tə/
- US /ˈkɑɹpəntɚ/
- US /ˈkɑɹpəndɚ/
Carpenter has 3 syllables, split car·pen·ter in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-carpenter.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of carpenter
- carpenters plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- carpentering participle, present
- carpentered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does carpenter mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A person skilled at carpentry, the trade of cutting and joining timber in order to construct buildings or other structures.
- 2
A senior rating in ships responsible for all the woodwork onboard; in the days of sail, a warrant officer responsible for the hull, masts, spars and boats of a ship, and whose responsibility was to sound the well to see if the ship was making water.
- 3
A two-wheeled carriage.
- 4
A carpenter bee.
- 5
CanadaUKA woodlouse.
verb
- 1
To work as a carpenter, cutting and joining timber.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate carpenter?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of carpenter: cptr..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Carpenter in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense one who practices carpentry:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | menuisier, menuisière, charpentier, charpentière |
| German | Zimmermann, Zimmerer, Zimmerin, Schreiner, Schreinerin, Tischler |
| Portuguese | marceneiro, marceneira, carpinteiro, carpinteira |
| Spanish | carpintero, carpintera, ebanista |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does carpenter come from?
From Middle English carpenter, from Anglo-Norman carpenter (compare Old French charpentier), from Late Latin carpentārius (“a carpenter”), from Latin carpentārius (“a wagon-maker, carriage-maker”), from Latin carpentum (“a two-wheeled carriage, coach, or chariot, a cart”), from Gaulish carbantos, from Proto-Celtic *karbantos (“chariot, war chariot”), probably related to Proto-Celtic *karros (“wagon”). Doublet of carpintero. More at car. Displaced native Old English trēowwyrhta (literally “tree worker”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).