emboss
Americanverb (used with object)
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to raise or represent (surface designs) in relief.
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to decorate (a surface) with raised ornament.
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Metalworking. to raise a design on (a blank) with dies of similar pattern, one the negative of the other.
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to cause to bulge out; make protuberant.
verb
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to mould or carve (a decoration or design) on (a surface) so that it is raised above the surface in low relief
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to cause to bulge; make protrude
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have embossedperfect
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has embossedperfect 3rd person singular
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has been embossingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am embossingprogressive 1st person singular
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have been embossingperfect progressive
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are embossingprogressive
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is embossingprogressive 3rd person singular
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embossessingular 3rd person
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embossingparticiple
Past
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had embossedperfect
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embossedsimple
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had been embossingperfect progressive
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were embossingprogressive plural
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embossedparticiple
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was embossingprogressive singular
Future
Etymology
Origin of emboss
1350–1400; Middle English embosen < Middle French embocer, equivalent to em- em- 1 + boce boss 2
Explanation
Emboss means to carve with a design. A silver tray might be embossed with your initials and wedding date. You might give your teacher a plaque with "World's Best Teacher" embossed under their name. Embossing and engraving have similar effects––a raised surface. But embossing pushes the paper or metal up, working from behind, while engraving actually cuts into the surface, cutting away a bit of the media as it makes its mark.
Vocabulary lists containing emboss
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
