A carpenter (builder) is a skilled craftsperson who performs carpentry. Carpenters work with wood to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work may involve manual labor and work outdoors.[1]

Carpentry skill is gained through experience and study. Outside of unions, there are no formal training requirements (in the U.S.) and the trade can be easy to enter. In other countries, such as Germany, Japan and Canada there are strict standards.

The word "carpenter" is the English rendering of the Old French word carpentier (become charpentier) which is derived from the Latin carpentrius [artifex], "(maker) of a carriage.[2] The Middle English word (in the sense of "builder") was wright (from the Old English wryhta), which could be used in compound forms such as wheelwright or boatwright.[3]

In British and Australian slang, a carpenter is sometimes referred to as a "chippie". One of the German words for carpenter is "Zimmermann" (room-maker, literally room-man), and hence is the source for the surname in German and English-speaking countries. Other woodworking names/professions, that also occur as a surname, are Tischler and Schreiner.

Carpentry in the United States is almost always done by men. With 98.5% of carpenters being male, it was the fourth most male-dominated occupation in the country in 1999.[4]