emboss

[em-baws, -bos]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR emboss ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to raise or represent (surface designs) in relief.

to decorate (a surface) with raised ornament.

Metalworking. to raise a design on (a blank) with dies of similar pattern, one the negative of the other.Compare coin(def 10).

to cause to bulge out; make protuberant.

Nearby words

Origin of emboss

1350–1400; Middle English embosen < Middle French embocer, equivalent to em- em-¹ + boce boss²

Related formsem·boss·a·ble, adjectiveem·boss·er, nounem·boss·ment, nounun·em·bossed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for embossed

It features on its front and back covers an intricate “original” design, embossed in gold.
Rand Paul’s Many Leather-Bound Books|Olivia Nuzzi|November 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One car accident was embossed on our minds as definitive and pivotal.
The Price of Being a Patton: Wrestling With the Legacy of America’s Most Famous General|Tim Teeman|May 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The cover is embossed with a gold symbol that might escape notice.
The Symbol Mitt Romney Demanded on His Official Gubernatorial Portrait|Michael Daly|October 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
At the top of the sheet the crest (if the family of the bride has the right to use one) is embossed without color.
Etiquette|Emily Post

The armorial design of the art, embossed above the portal, is a lamb bearing a cross.
Chit-Chat; Nirvana; The Searchlight|Mathew Joseph Holt
"C" and "K" are wrought into a monogram 351 on the handle, which is three inches long, of embossed gold.
Glimpses of Three Coasts|Helen Hunt Jackson
His eyes went blind for a moment, and his hands twitched convulsively on the embossed address he had been rolling and unrolling.
The Lane That Had No Turning, Complete|Gilbert Parker
It was blank, though the embossed stamp of the United States Government was upon it.
Mademoiselle of Monte Carlo|William Le Queux

British Dictionary definitions for embossed

embossed

adjective

having a moulded or carved decoration or design on the surface so that it is raised above the surface in low relief

emboss

verb

to mould or carve (a decoration or design) on (a surface) so that it is raised above the surface in low relief

to cause to bulge; make protrude

Derived Formsembosser, nounembossment, noun

Word Origin for emboss

C14: from Old French embocer, from em- + boce boss ²

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for embossed

emboss

late 14c., from Old French *embocer (cf. embocieure "boss, stud, buckle"), from em- (see en- (1)) + boce "knoblike mass" (see boss (n.2)). Related: Embossed; embossing.

emboss

verb (used with object)

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Nearby words

Origin of emboss

Examples from the Web for embossed

embossed

adjective

emboss

verb

Word Origin for emboss

emboss