Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To carve, cut, or etch into a material.
  • transitive verb To carve, cut, or etch a design or letters into.
  • transitive verb To carve, cut, or etch into a block or surface used for printing.
  • transitive verb To print from a block or plate made by such a process.
  • transitive verb To impress deeply as if by carving or etching.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To cut in; make by incision; produce or form by incision on a hard surface.
  • To imprint; impress deeply; infix.
  • To cut or carve in sunken patterns; incise with letters or figures, or with the lines representing any object: applied especially to work on metal, but also to work on stone and other hard materials.
  • To deposit in a grave; bury; inter; inhume.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb obsolete To deposit in the grave; to bury.
  • transitive verb obsolete To cut in; to make by incision.
  • transitive verb To cut with a graving instrument in order to form an inscription or pictorial representation; to carve figures; to mark with incisions.
  • transitive verb To form or represent by means of incisions upon wood, stone, metal, or the like.
  • transitive verb To impress deeply; to infix, as if with a graver.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb obsolete To put in a grave, to bury.
  • verb transitive To carve text or symbols into (something), usually for the purposes of identification or art.
  • verb transitive To carve (something) into a material.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb carve, cut, or etch into a material or surface
  • verb carve or cut into a block used for printing or print from such a block
  • verb impress or affect deeply
  • verb carve or cut a design or letters into

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From en- +‎ grave.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From earlier ingrave, equivalent to en- +‎ grave (“to carve, engrave”). More at grave.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word engrave.

Examples

  • Most English translations give "entomb" for "begraben," but I've been struck by the way the English word "engrave" includes the same root.

    Philocrites: January 2003 Archives 2003

  • The lighter need servicing both hv name engrave on it condition 6/10 sms to 94758950 with yr offer price You may not post new threads

    www.hardwarezone.com.sg desee 2009

  • There is one solo in which the soprano sings that she wants to "engrave" the crucified Jesus in her heart; the German pun is amazing in itself...

    Philocrites: January 2003 Archives 2003

  • There is one solo in which the soprano sings that she wants to "engrave" the crucified Jesus in her heart; the German pun is amazing in itself, but the music is so ravishing that I find myself caught up in its imaginative reality: it arouses feelings of tenderness and grief and devotion that I can't say I want to reject.

    Philocrites: January 2003 Archives 2003

  • Transforming tools include rotation, which allows rotation of the image to any angle, scale and shear Huge range of filters for adding distortions such as engrave, emboss, scratches, ripples etc,

    Wil's Ebay E-Store 2010

  • If something needs to be done, I do it, I told him in a tone of voice that would engrave the words in his brain.

    Olivia V.C.Andrews 2011

  • A while ago I learned to engrave copper, and I enjoyed doing it so much I was also pleased with myself for having acquired an anachronistic and highly specialized skill that I engraved every hard surface I could find.

    Brian D. Cohen: Things Brian D. Cohen 2011

  • A while ago I learned to engrave copper, and I enjoyed doing it so much I was also pleased with myself for having acquired an anachronistic and highly specialized skill that I engraved every hard surface I could find.

    Brian D. Cohen: Things Brian D. Cohen 2011

  • John McGiver, as the Tiffany clerk who agrees to engrave the Crackerjack ring, is superb.

    Jay Weston: Breakfast at Tiffany's Celebrates 50th Anniversary at Academy Jay Weston 2011

  • If something needs to be done, I do it, I told him in a tone of voice that would engrave the words in his brain.

    Olivia V.C.Andrews 2011

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.