weaver

IPA/ˈwiːvə(r)/
KK[wˈivɚ]IPA/ˈwiːvər/

weaver — noun

  • weaversingular
  • weaversplural

1. a person whose craft or job is making fabric by interlacing yarn or thread on a

1.nounB1
Definition

a person whose craft or job is making fabric by interlacing yarn or thread on a loom.

Example

Amara has worked as a weaver at the textile mill for over fifteen years.

countable noun: works as a weaver

The village weavers use natural dyes to create colourful patterns on cotton cloth.

collocation: village weaver(s)

Common collocations
  • skilled weaver
  • village weaver
  • handloom weaver
  • silk weaver
  • carpet weaver
  • work as a weaver
Synonyms
  • textile worker

    broader term — includes anyone in fabric production (spinners, dyers, finishers), not just those at the loom

  • artisan

    emphasises handcraft skill; applies across crafts (pottery, woodwork), not specific to weaving

Grammar Patterns

a + weaver

weaver + of + material

Usage Note

Frequently paired with a material or location (e.g. 'a weaver of silk', 'a weaver in the district'). The term is less common for factory workers today and more often describes artisans in traditional or small-scale textile production.

Common Mistakes

The weaver knitted a warm sweater.
The weaver made cloth on a loom.
Weaving and knitting are different crafts; weavers work on looms with warp and weft threads, while knitters use needles with a single continuous yarn.

2. a small finch-like bird native to Africa and Asia, known for building large, dom

2.nounB2
Definition

a small finch-like bird native to Africa and Asia, known for building large, dome-shaped nests by carefully interlacing grass, leaves, and twigs.

Example

A colony of weavers built a dozen nests in the acacia tree near the river.

collocation: colony of weavers

Kenji photographed a male weaver gathering long blades of grass to construct its nest.

male weaver + gathering grass to construct nest

Common collocations
  • weaver bird
  • social weaver
  • male weaver
  • weaver's nest
  • colony of weavers
  • weaver finch
Synonyms
  • weaverbird

    alternative spelling; slightly more explicit in distinguishing from the human occupation

  • social weaver

    refers to a specific sub-group of weaver species that nest colonially in large shared structures

Grammar Patterns

a + weaver

weaver + bird

Usage Note

Often used in the compound 'weaver bird' to avoid confusion with the person sense. 'Social weaver' refers specifically to species that build large multi-chamber communal nests.

Common Mistakes

The weaver built a nest with mud and sticks.
The weaver built a nest of woven grass blades.
Weavers are named for their weaving technique; they interlace plant fibres, unlike mud-nest builders such as swallows.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A weaver is specifically someone who operates a loom to interlace threads into cloth. A textile worker is a broader term that covers anyone in the fabric-making industry, including spinners, dyers, and finishers — not just those at the loom. An artisan is wider still, referring to any skilled craftsperson working with their hands, such as a potter, carpenter, or jeweller. A spinner turns raw fibres into yarn, which is the material the weaver then uses. In practice: 'The weaver threaded the loom with coloured silk' is precise, while 'The textile worker inspected the finished rolls of cotton' is broader and could describe a quality controller rather than a weaver.

weaver ↗textile workerartisanspinner ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • work as a weaver
  • apprentice weaver
  • master weaver
  • handloom weaver

Prepositions

  • of (weaver of silk)
  • in (weaver in the village)

Etymology

Proto-Indo-EuropeanProto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'weaver' comes from Old English 'wefan' (to weave), which can be traced back to the Proto-Germanic 'webaną' and further to the Proto-Indo-European root '*webh-' meaning 'to weave, to move back and forth'. The '-er' suffix marks the agent ('one who weaves'). The bird sense arose later because the bird's nest-building method resembles the back-and-forth motion of human weaving.

First known use

14th century

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1