DictionaryAI

artifact

noun
AR-ti-fakt/ˈɑɹtɪfækt/UKAH-ti-fakt/ˈɑːtɪfækt/

Pluralartifacts

UK spellingartefact

7 meanings of artifact

Practice

  1. 1
    dug-up objectnouncountable
    A tool, decoration, weapon, or other object from the past that matters to history, often dug up from the ground.

    A student found a stone artifact at the dig and showed it to her teacher.

    Farmers sometimes find ancient coins and other artifacts in their fields.

    UsageOften plural: Roman artifacts. British spelling: artefact.

    Similarrelic

    Note
  2. 2
    nouncountable
    Any object kept in a museum's collection, sometimes only things people made, sometimes natural things too.

    Each artifact in the museum has a small label with its name and number.

    The museum lends some of its artifacts to schools for special lessons.

    Similarobject, item

  3. 3
    nouncountable
    Anything that people (or sometimes animals) have made or shaped, not found in nature.

    A cup is an artifact because people made it.

    The children sorted things into natural objects and artifacts.

    Note
  4. 4
    digital flawnouncountable
    A flaw in a picture, video, or sound file caused by shrinking the file, processing it, or interference during recording.

    The video was so compressed that every fast scene was full of artifacts.

    That buzzing sound is an artifact from the cheap microphone, not part of the song.

    Similardistortion

    Note
  5. 5
    shaped by societynouncountable
    Something that exists because people made it happen or thought it up, not because it was always there.

    The idea that pink is for girls is an artifact of culture, not something people are born with.

    Many of the differences between the two groups are artifacts of how they were raised, not of who they are.

    UsageSay it is an artifact of something.

    Similarproduct

    Note
  6. 6
    nouncountable
    Something that shows up in a test or sample only because of how it was done, not because it is real.

    The strange result was just an artifact of a broken machine in the lab.

    The scientists checked again to make sure the pattern was real and not an artifact.

    UsageSay a result is an artifact of the method.

    Note
  7. 7
    nounabbreviationellipsis
    Short for build artifact, a file made from a program's code so it can be used.

    When the code is ready, the system makes an artifact that we can install.

    She downloaded the latest artifact and tested it on her laptop.

    Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of artifact apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Latin words meaning "by skill" and "thing made".

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

  • Artifact derives from Latin words meaning 'by skill' and 'thing made'. en.wiktionary.org