inscribe
Americanverb (used with object)
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inscribes,
present (3rd person singular)
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inscribed,
past participle, past
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inscribing
present participle
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to address or dedicate (a book, photograph, etc.) informally to a person, especially by writing a brief personal note in or on it.
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to mark (a surface) with words, characters, etc., especially in a durable or conspicuous way.
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to write, print, mark, or engrave (words, characters, etc.).
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to enroll, as on an official list.
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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.
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British.
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to issue (a loan) in the form of shares with registered stockholders.
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to sell (stocks).
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to buy (stocks).
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verb
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to make, carve, or engrave (writing, letters, a design, etc) on (a surface such as wood, stone, or paper)
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to enter (a name) on a list or in a register
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to sign one's name on (a book, photograph, etc) before presentation to another person
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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
Derived Forms
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inscribablenessnoun
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inscribernoun
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preinscribeverb (used with object)
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reinscribeverb (used with object)
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superinscribeverb (used with object)
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inscribableadjective
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uninscribedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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inscribesimple
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inscribessimple
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have inscribedperfect
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has inscribedperfect
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am inscribingprogressive
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are inscribingprogressive
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is inscribingprogressive
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have been inscribingperfect progressive
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has been inscribingperfect progressive
Past
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inscribedsimple
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had inscribedperfect
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was inscribingprogressive
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were inscribingprogressive
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had been inscribingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of inscribe
1545–55; < Latin inscrībere, equivalent to in- in- 2 + scrībere to write; see scribe 1
Explanation
To inscribe means to write something in a permanent or formal way. When you have a jeweler inscribe your initials inside your new ring, she uses a machine to carve them into the metal. A stone carver might inscribe your grandfather's name on a memorial stone, and your best friend might inscribe his name and a favorite quote in the back of your yearbook. In geometry, to inscribe is to fit one shape inside another, like when a triangle fits neatly inside a circle with its points just touching the perimeter. The Latin root of inscribe is inscribere, "to write in or on."
Vocabulary lists containing inscribe
I Am Malala
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The Write Stuff: Scrib, Script
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myPerspectives 9.1
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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:
Depending on the magnitude of the game, and of the challenge, Burruss would name the cast after a mountain peak, and use a Sharpie to inscribe the cast accordingly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2025
Multibeam has already demonstrated the capability to inscribe 8-inch wafers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2025
Over a period of six weeks, Heywood and Land roll and cut the clay, inscribe the disc with the honoree’s name and accomplishments, then apply the characteristic blue glaze and fire it in a kiln.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 18, 2023
If you get sued, stress the expressive elements of your business, from your choice of furnishings, colors and fabrics to marketing, including the fanciful words you inscribe on the bibles in each room.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2023
So doth even the most absurd of habits, after a time, inscribe itself as law, and come to resonate as ineluctable truth.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
A high-powered laser pulse then inscribes these minuscule voxels into square glass plates that are roughly the size of a CD.
From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026
For a reader self-identified as a “young budding historian obsessed with history,” Caro inscribes, “To a fellow history lover.”
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 18, 2023
A glowing, impossibly narrow point inscribes itself firmly on San Francisco’s skyline.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2021
A hundred frowny faces can’t console the grieving widow like a single piece of stationery on which a friend inscribes her sympathy.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 12, 2019
There is no frost upon the windows of Marco’s flat, so he inscribes lines of symbols in the shape of a letter A with ink, pressing his darkened fingers against the panes.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
KD1 — which is inscribed on her leg band — hails from the Prado Basin, some 70 miles southwest of Big Bear.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
The man was not instantly recognisable, but gold medals and gilded certificates piled nearby were inscribed with the name Hussam Luka.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
The iconic D-Day landing beaches in Normandy were on Sunday inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, marking the culmination of a project launched nearly two decades ago.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
He gifted Trump and other world leaders personalized revolvers inscribed with their names and live ammunition, according to an official familiar with the matter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
The Babylonian system of numbering was like an abacus inscribed symbolically onto a clay tablet.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2025
Choosing a message is important, but so is inscribing it in the asphalt.
From Slate ● Sep. 3, 2025
Mr Rimmer explains that his systems can provide that failsafe verification, by inscribing data inside the diamond - data that is impossible to remove, but does not devalue the gem in any way.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2022
She called for inscribing these rights into the French Constitution and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 9, 2022
She tries to think the way she imagines Marco might have as he wrote it, picturing him inscribing each page, rendering the delicate ink branches of the tree that winds throughout the book.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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.
