etch

[ ech ]

verb (used with object)

1. to cut, bite, or corrode with an acid or the like; engrave with an acid or the like, as to form a design in furrows that when charged with ink will give an impression on paper.
2. to produce (a design, image, etc.) by this method, as on copper or glass.
3. to outline clearly or sharply; delineate, as a person's features or character.
4. to fix permanently in or implant firmly on the mind; root in the memory:

   Our last conversation is etched in my memory.

5. Geology. to cut (a feature) into the surface of the earth by means of erosion:

   A deep canyon was etched into the land by the river's rushing waters.

verb (used without object)

1. to practice the art of etching.

noun

1. Printing. an acid used for etching.

etch

/ ɛtʃ /

verb

1. tr to wear away the surface of (a metal, glass, etc) by chemical action, esp the action of an acid
2. to cut or corrode (a design, decoration, etc) on (a metal or other plate to be used for printing) by using the action of acid on parts not covered by wax or other acid-resistant coating
3. tr to cut with or as if with a sharp implement

   he etched his name on the table

4. tr; usually passive to imprint vividly

   the event was etched on her memory

Derived Forms

• ˈetcher, noun

Other Words From

• etcher noun
• un·etched adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of etch¹

1625–35; < Dutch etsen < German ätzen to etch, originally cause to eat; cognate with Old English ettan to graze; akin to eat

Word History and Origins

Origin of etch¹

C17: from Dutch etsen, from Old High German azzen to feed, bite

Example Sentences

“I wrote them a letter that I wanted a camera and an Etch a Sketch, but it didn’t go so well,” Kamryn said.

From Washington Post

I wish I could rub out my life,” she laments in the opening chapter, “twiddling knobs as on an Etch A Sketch, and start again.

From The Daily Beast

On cable, you shake an Etch a Sketch every time you go on air.

From The Daily Beast

But like his other etch-a-sketch moderation efforts, it might be too little, too late.

From The Daily Beast

After the primaries, most pundits expected Romney to Etch-a-Sketch his way to the center.

From The Daily Beast

I'll be posting followups to Etch-A-Mitt, the Terrible Generals post, and on why the foreign policy questions are terrible.

From The Daily Beast

For the last time I referred to the map, pulpy and blurred with the day's exposure, and tried to etch it into my brain.

From Project Gutenberg

The light tints come out very soft and smooth, but the black tones etch "flat" and lose all detail.

From Project Gutenberg

Then, I love to etch, particularly on noses, and that was a good big one.

From Project Gutenberg

I do not know at what date my mother began to etch on copper.

From Project Gutenberg

She ate daintily, and as we talked, I studied her face as if I would etch it on my memory forever.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• depict
• engrave
• imprint
• incise
• ingrain
• inscribe
• portray
• stamp