encrust

[ en-kruhst ]

verb (used with object)

1. to cover or line with a crust or hard coating.
2. to form into a crust.
3. to deposit as a crust.

verb (used without object)

1. to form a crust:

   They scraped off the barnacles that always encrusted on the ship's hull.

encrust

/ ɪnˈkrʌst /

verb

1. tr to cover or overlay with or as with a crust or hard coating
2. to form or cause to form a crust or hard coating
3. tr to decorate lavishly, as with jewels

Derived Forms

• ˌencrusˈtation, noun

Other Words From

• en·crustant adjective noun
• nonen·crusting adjective noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of encrust¹

First recorded in 1635–45 for incrust and 1710–20 for encrust; from Old French encrouster, incrouster, from Latin incrustāre “to cover with a layer, rind, or crust; daub”; en- ¹, crust

Example Sentences

No lichens encrust the exposed rock.

From Science Daily

McCrady’s, Langhorne recalls, might prepare a local fish but encrust it with lichens that he foraged.

From Washington Post

Guests complain about their servants, encrust their manicures and teeth with diamonds and feed each other gold-flaked chocolate truffles.

From New York Times

But if hurricanes or other factors destroy the macroalgae, fire corals quickly move in and encrust surfaces, Edmunds reports today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. When the reef gets crowded, fire coral sprouts into its branching tree form, so it can continue to thrive in tight spaces and provide an upright structure that other organisms nibble on, live in, or otherwise use.

From Science Magazine

The nodules form on deep abyssal plains where sedimentation rates are low, allowing metal compounds dissolved in seawater to encrust a nucleus, like a shark tooth or a rock, over millions of years.

From Science Magazine

Related Words

• blacken
• smear
• smudge
• sully