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
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

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

  • The mold will then receive the embossment in reverse and all the tiles made from this mold will be alike.

    The Potter's Craft|Charles F. Binns
  • But on every one of them, in the centre or some other part of the embossment, appeared this image of the sun.

    The Virgin of the Sun|H. R. Haggard

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