inscribe

[in-skrahyb]

verb (used with object)

inscribed, inscribing 

1. to address or dedicate (a book, photograph, etc.) informally to a person, especially by writing a brief personal note in or on it.

2. to mark (a surface) with words, characters, etc., especially in a durable or conspicuous way.

3. to write, print, mark, or engrave (words, characters, etc.).

4. to enroll, as on an official list.

5. Geometry.,  to draw or delineate (one figure) within another figure so that the inner lies entirely within the boundary of the outer, touching it at as many points as possible.

   to inscribe a circle in a square.

6. British.

   1. to issue (a loan) in the form of shares with registered stockholders.

   2. to sell (stocks).

   3. to buy (stocks).

inscribe

/ ɪnˈskraɪb /

verb

1. to make, carve, or engrave (writing, letters, a design, etc) on (a surface such as wood, stone, or paper)

2. to enter (a name) on a list or in a register

3. to sign one's name on (a book, photograph, etc) before presentation to another person

4. to draw (a geometric construction such as a circle, polygon, etc) inside another construction so that the two are in contact but do not intersect Compare circumscribe

Other Word Forms

• inscribable adjective
• inscribableness noun
• inscriber noun
• preinscribe verb (used with object)
• reinscribe verb (used with object)
• superinscribe verb (used with object)
• uninscribed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of inscribe¹

1545–55; < Latin inscrībere, equivalent to in- in- ² + scrībere to write; scribe ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of inscribe¹

C16: from Latin inscrībere; see _inscription

Example Sentences

The diagnostic definition has changed dramatically in that time, inscribing children with a broad range of abilities, needs and behaviors within a single term: autism spectrum disorder.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

She reaches an arm behind the monitor, pulls out a long sleeve, and unzips it to unveil a shiny red sword with golden Japanese characters inscribed onto the blade.

Read more on Literature

Dates inscribed on many of the coins provided the most conclusive proof of the time in which the ship had sailed and had met with disaster.

Read more on Literature

The U.S. has banned the sale of tools known as extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, which inscribe silicon wafers with microscopic patterns filled by billions of transistors.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Babylonian works were inscribed in cuneiform on clay tablets, many of which have survived only in fragments.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

• carve 
• engrave 
• etch