engrave
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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.
-
to print from such a surface.
-
to mark or ornament with incised letters, designs, etc..
He engraved the ring in a floral pattern.
-
to impress deeply; infix.
That image is engraved on my mind.
verb
-
to inscribe (a design, writing, etc) onto (a block, plate, or other surface used for printing) by carving, etching with acid, or other process
-
to print (designs or characters) from a printing plate so made
-
to fix deeply or permanently in the mind
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
engravernoun
-
underengravernoun
-
reengraveverb (used with object)
-
superengraveverb (used with object)
-
engravableadjective
-
unengravedadjective
-
well-engravedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
engravesimple
-
engravessimple
-
have engravedperfect
-
has engravedperfect
-
am engravingprogressive
-
are engravingprogressive
-
is engravingprogressive
-
have been engravingperfect progressive
-
has been engravingperfect progressive
Past
-
engravedsimple
-
had engravedperfect
-
was engravingprogressive
-
were engravingprogressive
-
had been engravingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of engrave
Explanation
To engrave is to carve into something, especially stone. Sometimes people have messages engraved inside their wedding rings, their iPods, or any other rock-hard surface that can handle it. Words are engraved on tombstones to honor the people who died. Grave used to mean “to dig or carve” but no one uses it that way anymore because they would say engrave instead. Anytime a hard surface has a message or picture cut into, it was engraved. Sometimes engraving isn’t physical. A super fun birthday when your long lost grandmother rode in on a stallion could be engraved in your mind forever. Both kinds of engraving leave an impression.
Vocabulary lists containing engrave
Frindle
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Marvels
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Renaissance and Reformation, Lessons 1–2
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Everyone who the company hires to engrave starts with zero experience, and part of the challenge is the process itself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 2026
Before, to engrave the circuits on the silicon plates used in electronic devices like mobile phones, it was necessary to use polluting chemical products.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 24, 2024
A love lock is a padlock couples can engrave with their names before adding to a bridge, fence or installation at a special destination.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 16, 2023
I also love the fact that they could have put it in a font, in something computer-generated, but they chose to engrave it in my handwriting.
From Scientific American ● Jul. 7, 2023
Still weak from her tropical illness and pressed for time, she was forced to hire others to etch and engrave most of the copper plates based on her paintings.
From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman
Nolan’s “Odyssey” engraves marvelous images onto the ancient oral poem.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Employing a nano-imprinting process that engraves the pattern like a stamp, the team achieved the rapid and inexpensive production of metalenses that are 20,000 times larger than conventional ones.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 12, 2024
He said that many local business in the area, including his own, which engraves stone, had offered their time and resources to restore the structure.
From New York Times ● Jul. 6, 2022
A machine engraves information on an ingot of 99.98 percent pure palladium at the Krastsvetmet non-ferrous metals plant in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia March 10, 2022.
From Reuters ● May 15, 2022
They say that every day he keeps his walk amongst these woods and melancholy shades, and on the bark of every senseless tree engraves the tenor of his hapless hope.
From A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 9 by Various
Elsewhere are splendid cabinets with mother-of-pearl inlay, gorgeous enamel accessories, plush velvet textiles and engraved iron swords.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
Kelce popped the question with an elongated old mine cut cushion set within an engraved gold band.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026
The Bacon Hole discovery came a decade after Nash found a reindeer engraved on the wall of a cave nearby, which was confirmed in 2012 as the then-oldest known rock art in Britain in 2012.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
It will be engraved with my name and the dates of my birth and death, and also with the symbols of six religions, carved in a single line.
From Salon ● Jun. 1, 2026
I turned it over in my avatar’s hand, watching the torchlight play across the roman numeral, and that was when I spotted two small lines of text engraved into the metal.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
Twiggs testified that Robinson had asked weeks earlier about using an engraving tool in advance of an upcoming hunting and camping trip with his family.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
The Hockey Hall of Fame told the Associated Press it is not directly involved with the engraving.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
When I think of people piling into funds with hot recent returns, I can’t help seeing this early engraving in my mind’s eye.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026
More than 40,000 years ago, early humans were already engraving symbols onto tools, figurines, and other objects.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 25, 2026
It had a picture of an engraving by Albrecht Dürer that had a magic square in it too.
From "The Lions of Little Rock" by Kristin Levine
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.
