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Showing results for "etching"
  • present participle of etch.
Synonyms

etching

American  
[ech-ing] / ˈɛtʃ ɪŋ /

noun

  • etchings
    plural
  1. the act or process of making designs or pictures on a metal plate, glass, etc., by the corrosive action of an acid instead of by a burin.

  2. an impression, as on paper, taken from an etched plate.

  3. the design so produced.

  4. a metal plate bearing such a design.


etching British  
/ ˈɛtʃɪŋ /

noun

  1. the art, act, or process of preparing etched surfaces or of printing designs from them

  2. an etched plate

  3. an impression made from an etched plate

"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

etching Cultural  
  1. An artistic print made from a plate on which the artist has etched a design with acid. (Compare engraving.)


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of etching

First recorded in 1625–35; etch + -ing 1

Vocabulary lists containing etching

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:

Read: There have been updates over time, but the original glass etching featuring a mythical unicorn remains on a window in the study.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

The event includes Woman with an Arm Tattoo, an etching depicting Sue Tilley, and runs until 13 September.

From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026

On the picture’s lower left lie three tools of the engraver’s trade: two burins, for making large designs, and an etching needle for smaller ones.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

Until now, most MXenes have been produced using chemical etching, a process that leaves a mix of surface atoms such as oxygen, fluorine, or chlorine scattered randomly across the material.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 4, 2026

Then my fingers felt something that my eyes missed: a maze of grooves etching the surface of the bars.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

The etchings were all created using Blake's own "illuminated printing" technique.

From Barron's ● Nov. 18, 2025

There’s a stunning group of watercolors, seemingly breathed onto the paper, by Joseph Mallord William Turner, fragile etchings by Whistler and dazzling, light-struck waterside scenes by Sargent.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2025

Paint and etchings, including two names - Shal and Noah - were left scrawled on the walls and floor of Robin’s Hood Cave on Stanage Edge, near Hope Valley.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2024

The exhibition features etchings that have dark black shapes on white background and speak to his minimalist style.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2024

I stare at the scims in my hands, a matched set with intricate black etchings that probably have no equal in the Empire.

From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir

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