Dictionary.com

emboss

[ em-baws, -bos ]
/ ɛmˈbɔs, -ˈbɒs /
Save This Word!
See synonyms for: emboss / embossed 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.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?

Origin of emboss

1350–1400; Middle English embosen<Middle French embocer, equivalent to em-em-1 + boceboss2

OTHER WORDS FROM emboss

em·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. 2023

How to use emboss in a sentence

  • And never did embosser do better work with hammer and graving tool.

    A King of Tyre|James M. Ludlow

British Dictionary definitions for emboss

emboss
/ (ɪmˈbɒs) /

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 forms of emboss

embosser, 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
FEEDBACK