incise

American  

[in-sahyz] / ɪnˈsaɪz /

verb (used with object)

incised, incising

1. to cut into; cut marks, figures, etc., upon.

2. to make (marks, figures, etc.) by cutting; engrave; carve.

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incise British  

/ ɪnˈsaɪz /

verb

1. (tr) to produce (lines, a design, etc) by cutting into the surface of (something) with a sharp tool

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Etymology

Origin of incise

First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin incīsus, past participle of incīdere “to carve, cut into,” equivalent to in- “in” in- ² + cīd- “to cut” + -tus past participle suffix, with -dt- becoming -s-

Example Sentences

During high flows after storms, these boulders may be fully mobile, and as they move, they help incise the river.

From Science Daily • Dec. 15, 2023

“These linear features mean the river is going to form in the same place every year, allowing the water to incise deeper,” Boghosian says.

From Scientific American • Apr. 20, 2022

The local artist uses a compass to incise tightly arrayed complementary lines into large sheets of black-painted plaster topped with glistening layers of graphite and varnish; the resulting pieces appear metallic and machine-tooled.

From Washington Post • Nov. 23, 2021

Once it hit the ground, that water began running off into countless streams and gathering in numerous canyons that incise the foothills of the nation’s highest terrain.

From Time • Sep. 18, 2013

Ralph was ending with an incise peroration that he had delivered more than once before.

From The King's Achievement by Benson, Robert Hugh

Related Words

• engrave
• etch