engrave

American  

[en-greyv] / ɛnˈgreɪv /

verb (used with object)

engraved, engraving

1. to chase (letters, designs, etc.) on a hard surface, as of metal, stone, or the end grain of wood.

   She had the jeweler engrave her name on the back of the watch.

2. to print from such a surface.

3. to mark or ornament with incised letters, designs, etc..

   He engraved the ring in a floral pattern.

4. to impress deeply; infix.

   That image is engraved on my mind.

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engrave British  

/ ɪnˈɡreɪv /

verb

1. to inscribe (a design, writing, etc) onto (a block, plate, or other surface used for printing) by carving, etching with acid, or other process

2. to print (designs or characters) from a printing plate so made

3. to fix deeply or permanently in the mind

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Other Word Forms

• engravable adjective
• engraver noun
• reengrave verb (used with object)
• superengrave verb (used with object)
• underengraver noun
• unengraved adjective
• well-engraved adjective

Etymology

Origin of engrave

1500–10; < Middle French engraver; en- ¹, grave ³

Example Sentences

Herman Melville’s American classic was given new life by Kent’s dramatic engravings.

From The Wall Street Journal

The art was reissued later that year by Random House in a one-volume trade edition, helping to make Kent’s turbulent engravings—of Captain Ahab, the Pequod’s crew and the elusive white whale—iconic.

From The Wall Street Journal

His ink-wash eyewitness accounts were widely printed and engraved, and might be termed his first watercolors as an adult.

From The Wall Street Journal

Later historians described this engraving and, despite having never seen the painting, catalogued its existence.

From Barron's

They settled in Philadelphia and, as a teenager, he learned engraving and earned a living incising designs for silverware firms—no doubt honing his talent for detail.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• chisel
• embed
• etch
• imprint
• ingrain
• inscribe