Definition of "carve" []

• To divide into pieces by cutting; slice: carved a roast. (verb-transitive)
• To divide by parceling out: carve up an estate. (verb-transitive)
• To cut into a desired shape; fashion by cutting: carve the wood into a figure. (verb-transitive)
• To make or form by or as if by cutting: carve initials in the bark; carved out an empire. (verb-transitive)
• To decorate by cutting and shaping carefully. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The unsecured creditors may use that so-called carve-out to cover such expenses as attorneys 'fees or as a supplement to what the company will repay them upon its exit from bankruptcy protection."
• "Come here, and let us teach you to behave properly; you will not have to carve, that is done at the side-table."
• "Fiercely protective of their own place in the presidential nominating process, Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada - known as the "carve out states" - would almost certainly push their dates into January in response to Florida's move."