engrave
Americanverb (used with object)
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to chase (letters, designs, etc.) on a hard surface, as of metal, stone, or the end grain of wood.
She had the jeweler engrave her name on the back of the watch.
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to print from such a surface.
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to mark or ornament with incised letters, designs, etc..
He engraved the ring in a floral pattern.
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to impress deeply; infix.
That image is engraved on my mind.
verb
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to inscribe (a design, writing, etc) onto (a block, plate, or other surface used for printing) by carving, etching with acid, or other process
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to print (designs or characters) from a printing plate so made
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to fix deeply or permanently in the mind
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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engravernoun
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underengravernoun
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reengraveverb (used with object)
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superengraveverb (used with object)
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engravableadjective
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unengravedadjective
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well-engravedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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engravesimple
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engravessimple
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have engravedperfect
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has engravedperfect
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am engravingprogressive
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are engravingprogressive
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is engravingprogressive
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have been engravingperfect progressive
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has been engravingperfect progressive
Past
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engravedsimple
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had engravedperfect
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was engravingprogressive
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were engravingprogressive
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had been engravingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of engrave
Explanation
To engrave is to carve into something, especially stone. Sometimes people have messages engraved inside their wedding rings, their iPods, or any other rock-hard surface that can handle it. Words are engraved on tombstones to honor the people who died. Grave used to mean “to dig or carve” but no one uses it that way anymore because they would say engrave instead. Anytime a hard surface has a message or picture cut into, it was engraved. Sometimes engraving isn’t physical. A super fun birthday when your long lost grandmother rode in on a stallion could be engraved in your mind forever. Both kinds of engraving leave an impression.
Vocabulary lists containing engrave
Frindle
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The Marvels
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The Renaissance and Reformation, Lessons 1–2
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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:
It took three years of training before he was allowed to engrave small pieces for customers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2025
Before, to engrave the circuits on the silicon plates used in electronic devices like mobile phones, it was necessary to use polluting chemical products.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 24, 2024
Might as well engrave the nameplate on the NFL offensive rookie of the year award now.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 17, 2023
I also love the fact that they could have put it in a font, in something computer-generated, but they chose to engrave it in my handwriting.
From Scientific American ● Jul. 7, 2023
“A prophecy. You can add it to your books, engrave it on your floor, whatever.”
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
Nolan’s “Odyssey” engraves marvelous images onto the ancient oral poem.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Employing a nano-imprinting process that engraves the pattern like a stamp, the team achieved the rapid and inexpensive production of metalenses that are 20,000 times larger than conventional ones.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 12, 2024
He said that many local business in the area, including his own, which engraves stone, had offered their time and resources to restore the structure.
From New York Times ● Jul. 6, 2022
A machine engraves information on an ingot of 99.98 percent pure palladium at the Krastsvetmet non-ferrous metals plant in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia March 10, 2022.
From Reuters ● May 15, 2022
Desnoyers engraves only for himself: that is to say, he is the sole proprietor of his performances, and report speaks him to be in the receipt of some twenty-five thousand francs per annum.
From A Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany, Volume Two by Dibdin, Thomas Frognall
Aung San is "engraved in people's memory" as Myanmar's independence hero, and many see his legacy being continued by his daughter, according to Myanmar specialist Moe Thuzar.
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
Elsewhere are splendid cabinets with mother-of-pearl inlay, gorgeous enamel accessories, plush velvet textiles and engraved iron swords.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
That phrase, engraved on some quarters photographer Blaise Hayward was counting in his New York City kitchen in July 2023, intrigued him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
The Bacon Hole discovery came a decade after Nash found a reindeer engraved on the wall of a cave nearby, which was confirmed in 2012 as the then-oldest known rock art in Britain in 2012.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
These numbers are engraved twice on an oval metal disc we wear around our neck.
From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys
Each ring will include a mini World Cup trophy in its design and an engraving in the band.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
A stone engraving of the Declaration of Independence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026
More than 40,000 years ago, early humans were already engraving symbols onto tools, figurines, and other objects.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 25, 2026
Erbium and neodymium are also important in making lasers for industrial engraving and cutting.
From Barron's ● Feb. 4, 2026
A master engraver expertly carves his designs onto a polished copper plate using an engraving tool called a burin.
From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman
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.
