imprint
Americannoun
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imprints
plural
-
a mark made by pressure; a mark or figure impressed or printed on something.
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any impression or impressed effect.
He left the imprint of his thought on all succeeding scholars.
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Bibliography.
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the name of a book's publisher printed on the title page or elsewhere, usually with the place and date of publication.
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the statement of such information in a bibliographic description of a printed work.
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a name, title, or other designation by which all or certain specific books of a publisher are identified.
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any marketing name used by a company or organization for a product line; brand or label.
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the printer's name and address as indicated on any printed matter.
verb (used with object)
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imprints,
present (3rd person singular)
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imprinted,
past participle, past
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imprinting
present participle
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to impress (a quality, character, distinguishing mark, etc.).
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to produce (a mark) on something by pressure.
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to bestow, as a kiss.
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to fix firmly on the mind, memory, etc.
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Animal Behavior, Psychology. to acquire or establish by imprinting.
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to make an imprint upon.
verb (used without object)
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imprints,
present (3rd person singular)
-
imprinted,
past participle, past
-
imprinting
present participle
noun
-
a mark or impression produced by pressure, printing, or stamping
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a characteristic mark or indication; stamp
the imprint of great sadness on his face
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the publisher's name and address, usually with the date of publication, in a book, pamphlet, etc
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the printer's name and address on any printed matter
verb
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to produce (a mark, impression, etc) on (a surface) by pressure, printing, or stamping
to imprint a seal on wax
to imprint wax with a seal
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to establish firmly; impress; stamp
to imprint the details on one's mind
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(of young animals) to undergo the process of imprinting
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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imprintsimple
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imprintssimple
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have imprintedperfect
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has imprintedperfect
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am imprintingprogressive
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are imprintingprogressive
-
is imprintingprogressive
-
have been imprintingperfect progressive
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has been imprintingperfect progressive
Past
-
imprintedsimple
-
had imprintedperfect
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was imprintingprogressive
-
were imprintingprogressive
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had been imprintingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of imprint
1325–75; im- 1 + print; replacing Middle English empreynten < Middle French empreinter, derivative of empreinte, feminine past participle of empreindre < Latin imprimere to impress 1
Explanation
To imprint is to mark or stamp something, like with the name of a publisher. It also can refer to any kind of impression or influence. You can imprint or leave imprints — the word is happy as a verb or a noun. You can literally imprint something with a stamp of your initials. You can even make an imprint on a bed just by lying on it. Branding is a type of imprinting too. Also, if someone changed your life, she left an imprint on you. You can hear the imprint (influence) of the blues on any rock and roll song. All imprints leave a mark.
Vocabulary lists containing imprint
Long Way Down
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Number the Stars
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Frindle
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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:
That imprint appears to promote immune tolerance and may help protect against inflammatory bowel disease-like conditions even after exposure to the metabolite has ended.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
She said she was "really happy" and wanted to "empower women" and "leave an imprint on their lives" with her future career.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
And no one left a stronger imprint then Chesney, who Pleasant said has been the same guy ever since their meeting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
Fourteen publishers bid for the U.S. rights, and Macmillan’s Minotaur Books imprint won the frenzied auction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
He looked for an imprint of her feet or the outline that the cloth of her skirt made in the sand.
From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko
In one study, currently under peer review, we found that clumps of imprints behave just like dark matter, an unknown substance that makes up most of the matter in the universe.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 18, 2026
"There are so many imprints in my experience of going to the movie theatre as a kid and growing up going to the movies," he said.
From BBC ● May 7, 2026
A Hachette spokeswoman said both imprints conducted a “lengthy investigation in recent weeks” and Orbit U.S. decided not to publish.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
Unlike traditional publishing houses, Bindery operates via a handful of influencer-led imprints, designed to better serve reader interest and take the burden of book promotion off under-resourced authors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026
My sketchbook is a collection of imprints from my soul.
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Her creations include recycled car tires—symbols of the capital’s traffic-clogged modern life—with sides and treads imprinted with gilded Aztec symbols, including the flying feathered serpent-god Quetzalcoatl.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
It's not just horses helping Lloyd, but a Welsh dragon too, imprinted on her helmet.
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
The room’s furniture remains eerily static, while their bodies’ movements leave traces imprinted around the frame.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2026
On the call, he wore a hat with a word imprinted on its front: Love.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026
What I remember are events and encounters and routines, markers that emerged here and there from the ocean of time and imprinted themselves on my memory.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
Monica may spend time with David and choose whether she’d like to activate his imprinting feature, triggering a familial love that looks and feels as real as her biological son’s — at least to David.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
If there’s another cub in California, the agency may try to pair them up to keep them from imprinting on people, according to the release.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2025
Howe immediately set about imprinting his methods at Newcastle.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2025
Thus, fathers have an important, albeit indirect, influence on the genetic imprinting of mitochondria and thereby on the energy metabolism of their children.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 5, 2024
Herds of puffy cumulus raced beneath the sun, imprinting the landscape with a shifting matrix of shadow and blinding light.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
