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; 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."

Example Sentences

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

The U.S. has banned the sale of tools known as extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, which inscribe silicon wafers with microscopic patterns filled by billions of transistors.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 12, 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

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

Related Words

• carve
• engrave
• etch