ingrain

[ verb in-greyn; adjective, noun in-greyn ]

/ verb ɪnˈgreɪn; adjective, noun ˈɪnˌgreɪn /

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verb (used with object)

to implant or fix deeply and firmly, as in the nature or mind.

adjective

ingrained; firmly fixed.

(of fiber or yarn) dyed in a raw state, before being woven or knitted.

made of fiber or yarn so dyed: ingrain fabric.

(of carpets) made of ingrain yarn and so woven as to show a different pattern on each side; reversible.

noun

yarn, wool, etc., dyed before manufacture.

an ingrain carpet.

RELATED WORDS

instill, fix, teach, implant

Nearby words

ingoing, ingolstadt, ingot, ingot iron, ingraft, ingrain, ingrained, ingram, ingrate, ingrately, ingratiate

Also engrain (for defs 1, 2).

Origin of ingrain

1760–70; orig. phrase (dyed) in grain (i.e., with kermes)

SYNONYMS FOR ingrain

1 infuse, inculcate, imbue.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ingrain ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ingrain

The door was ajar, and he stepped into a little hall covered with ingrain carpet.
K|Mary Roberts Rinehart
There was an ingrain carpet on the floor, green ivy leaves on a red ground, and clumsy, old-fashioned walnut furniture.
Song of the Lark|Willa Cather
Silks and moquette harmonize as well as calico and ingrain once did.
The Secret of a Happy Home (1896)|Marion Harland
They have an ingrain conviction that it is you who are wrong, not them.
The Seven Curses of London|James Greenwood

Aunt Maria can't conceive of anybody's being happy that has to begin life with an ingrain carpet on the floor.
My Wife and I|Harriet Beecher Stowe

British Dictionary definitions for ingrain

ingrain

engrain

verb (ɪnˈɡreɪn) (tr)

to impress deeply on the mind or nature; instil

archaic to dye into the fibre of (a fabric)

adjective (ˈɪnˌɡreɪn)

variants of ingrained

(of woven or knitted articles, esp rugs and carpets) made of dyed yarn or of fibre that is dyed before being spun into yarn

noun (ˈɪnˌɡreɪn)

a carpet made from ingrained yarn
such yarn

Word Origin for ingrain

C18: from the phrase dyed in grain dyed with kermes through the fibre

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

Word Origin and History for ingrain

ingrain

1766, see engrain. Figurative use, of qualities, habits, etc., attested from 1851 (in ingrained). Of dyed carpets, etc., 1766, from in grain.