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
- embossable adjective
- embosser noun
- embossment noun
- unembossed adjective
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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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.
The coin, designed by east London artist and LGBTQ+ activist Dominique Holmes, uses state-of-the-art printing technology to emboss it with the colours of the Pride progress flag.
From Reuters • May 18, 2022
Initially a contract manufacturer of shoe parts, Tyca got into the denim game to fulfill a request from Levi’s, using the same machinery to emboss the Levi’s name into thousands of back pockets.
From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2021
They might as well emboss Bette Midler’s statue now.
From The Guardian • May 2, 2017
In the real world, opportunities for selling and recruiting dry up very quickly, no matter how many inspirational seminars you attend and business cards you emboss.
From Slate • Jul. 20, 2016
Weaving Southern destiny, Waiting for the mighty hour When our Shiloh shall appear With the flaming sword of right, With the steel of brotherhood, And emboss in crimson die Liberty!
From The Book of American Negro Poetry by Johnson, James Weldon
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.
