artifact
English · Thesaurus
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artifact
- /ˈɑːtɪfækt/ UK
- /ˈɑɹtɪfækt/ US
- [-ɾɪ-] US
- [-ɾə-] US
Where it comes from
Alteration of artefact, from Italian artefatto, from Latin arte (“by skill”) (ablative of ars (“art”)) + factum (“thing made”) (from facio (“to make, do”)).
noun artifacts · artefact
- An object made or shaped by human hand or labor. Given increasing investment in an IT (information technology) artifact (i.e., online service website), it is becoming important to retain existing customers.
- An object made or shaped by some agent or intelligence, not necessarily of direct human origin.
- Something viewed as a product of human agency or conception rather than an inherent element. The very act of looking at a naked model was an artifact of male supremacy.
- A finding or structure in an experiment or investigation that is not a true feature of the object under observation, but is a result of external action, the test arrangement, or an experimental error. The spot on his lung turned out to be an artifact of the X-ray process.
- An appearance or structure in protoplasm due to death, the method of preparation of specimens, or the use of reagents, and not present during life.
- A perceptible distortion that appears in an audio or video file or an image as a result of applying a lossy compression or other inexact processing algorithm or of physical interference in an acquisition process. This JPEG image has been so highly compressed that it has unsightly artifacts, making it unsuitable for the cover of our magazine.
- An object, such as a tool, ornament, or weapon of archaeological or historical interest, especially such an object found at an archaeological excavation. The dig produced many Roman artifacts.
- A powerful weapon, armor or another object, often with magical properties.
- Ellipsis of build artifact
- Any object in the collection of a museum. May be used sensu stricto only for human-made objects, or may include ones that are not human-made.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: artefact, monument, device, ordnance, component, explosive, subject-matter, horse, ship, item, object, subject, purpose, element, ied, improvised
Translations
Every language
noun artificial feature
| Español | artefacto |
|---|---|
| Português | interferência |
| Français | construction |
noun archaeological object
| Español | artefacto |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 인공물 in'gongmul |
| 日本語 | 遺物 ibutsu, 埋蔵物 maizōbutsu |
| 中文 | 手工藝品 /手工艺品 shǒugōng yìpǐn |
| Português | artefato, artefacto |
| Français | artéfact, artefact |
| Deutsch | Artefakt |
| Ελληνικά | τέχνημα téchnima |
| Русский | артефа́кт artefákt |
| Tiếng Việt | hiện vật |
noun object made or shaped by human hand
| Español | artefacto |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 인공물 in'gongmul |
| 日本語 | 人工物 jinkōbutsu, 加工品 kakōhin, 工芸品 kōgeihin |
| 中文 | 人工製品 /人工制品 réngōng zhìpǐn |
| Português | artefato, artefacto |
| Français | artefact, artéfact |
| Deutsch | Artefakt |
| Italiano | artefatto, manufatto |
| Ελληνικά | τέχνημα téchnima, τεχνούργημα technoúrgima |
| Русский | артефа́кт artefákt |
noun something viewed as a product of human conception
| Español | artefacto |
|---|---|
| Português | produto |
| Français | artefact |
| Italiano | prodotto |
| Ελληνικά | τέχνημα téchnima |
noun biology
| Português | artefato |
|---|
noun object in the collection of a museum
| Tiếng Việt | hiện vật |
|---|
Talk about this word "artifact." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/artifact. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. artifact. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/artifact "artifact." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/artifact.Cite this
@misc{artifact_2026,
title = {artifact},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/artifact},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
