inscribe

American  

[in-skrahyb] / ɪnˈskraɪb /

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).

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inscribe British  

/ 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

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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

Etymology

Origin of inscribe

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

Example Sentences

The researchers noted that intact inscribed ancient Egyptian alabaster vessels are extremely rare, likely fewer than 10 in museum collections worldwide.

From Science Daily

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

Especially moving is his oversize reproduction of a Polaroid sent from an incarcerated relative, the white strip at the bottom of the photo inscribed with a message sending love and affection to his little brothers.

From The Wall Street Journal

If the company is able to achieve this level of precision, it could help chip makers inscribe even smaller microscopic lines into silicon wafers.

From The Wall Street Journal

"They're inscribing something about their cosmology, their belief systems, into the earth itself in a very dramatic way."

From BBC

Related Words

• carve
• engrave
• etch