1 [U] the use of the imagination to express ideas or feelings, particularly in painting, drawing or SCULPTURE:
modern / contemporary / American art * an art critic / historian / lover * Can we call television art? * an art form (= a particular type of artistic activity) * stolen works of art * Her performance displayed great art.
seealsoFINEART
2 [U] examples of objects such as paintings, drawings or SCULPTURES:
an art gallery / exhibition * a collection of art and antiques
3 [U] the skill of creating objects such as paintings and drawings, especially when you study it:
She's good at art and design. * an art teacher / student / college / class
4 (the arts) [pl.] art, music, theatre, literature, etc. when you think of them as a group:
lottery funding for the arts
seealsoPERFORMINGARTS
5 [C] a type of VISUAL or performing art:
Dance is a very theatrical art.
6 [C,usually pl.] the subjects you can study at school or university which are not scientific, such as languages, history or literature:
an arts degree
compareSCIENCE
7 [C,U] an ability or a skill that you can develop with training and practice:
a therapist trained in the art of healing * Letter-writing is a lost art nowadays. * Appearing confident at interviews is quite an art (= rather difficult).
IDIOMS see FINEadj.
verb (thou art) (old use) used to mean 'you are', when talking to one person
