inscribe
Americanverb (used with object)
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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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A Separate Peace
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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
"Mr Onakoya is a symbol of excellence and resilience that distinguish Nigerians both at home and abroad... Go, make history, and inscribe our name in gold," Nigeria's Vice-President Kashim Shettima posted on X.
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2024
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
Breezes from the sluggish river seem to inscribe her skin with metal tips.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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
It develops its drama on an international scale and inscribes it on the world-striding map of industrial politics of a historic scope, while remaining family-friendly and sentimental about domestic life.
From The New Yorker ● Nov. 19, 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
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
There are many meanings that have been inscribed to “Cut Piece,” in which Ono invited the audience to come on stage and, with a pair scissors, cut off a small piece of her dress.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Priests used this odd object, divided into zones inscribed with the name of a god, as a teaching tool: In a sacrificed animal, departures from the liver’s usual features were viewed as messages from deities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
"It's a strange mixture of being glad and happy and sad at the same time," John said, as he touched the stone where his father's name is now inscribed.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
I step out and walk over to my mother’s headstone, kissing her inscribed name.
From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera
Choosing a message is important, but so is inscribing it in the asphalt.
From Slate ● Sep. 3, 2025
They left signed jerseys in their teammates’ lockers like classmates inscribing yearbooks after the school year, except the end came much more suddenly than any planned graduation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2025
They also look for other ways to stand out, like inscribing a logo or lettering on the carpet, Mr. Baptista said.
From New York Times ● Mar. 10, 2023
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
Now imagine trying to estimate the size of the triangle by inscribing little rectangles inside the triangle.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
