etching
Americannoun
-
etchings
plural
-
the act or process of making designs or pictures on a metal plate, glass, etc., by the corrosive action of an acid instead of by a burin.
-
an impression, as on paper, taken from an etched plate.
-
the design so produced.
-
a metal plate bearing such a design.
noun
-
the art, act, or process of preparing etched surfaces or of printing designs from them
-
an etched plate
-
an impression made from an etched plate
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of etching
Vocabulary lists containing etching
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Read: There have been updates over time, but the original glass etching featuring a mythical unicorn remains on a window in the study.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
The declines followed losses by major US semiconductor stocks, after a report said a company was making specialised ultraviolet etching machines to boost China's chip industry.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
The event includes Woman with an Arm Tattoo, an etching depicting Sue Tilley, and runs until 13 September.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
A typical fab processes silicon wafers in batches, moving them together through different stages of printing and etching to build chips layer by layer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026
She is etching spider legs into the icy bone.
From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston
![]()
The etchings were all created using Blake's own "illuminated printing" technique.
From Barron's ● Nov. 18, 2025
The social and political turmoil of today resonates in a mammoth, extraordinary show of Francisco de Goya’s celebrated etchings at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2025
There’s a stunning group of watercolors, seemingly breathed onto the paper, by Joseph Mallord William Turner, fragile etchings by Whistler and dazzling, light-struck waterside scenes by Sargent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2025
Paint and etchings, including two names - Shal and Noah - were left scrawled on the walls and floor of Robin’s Hood Cave on Stanage Edge, near Hope Valley.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2024
I stare at the scims in my hands, a matched set with intricate black etchings that probably have no equal in the Empire.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
![]()
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.