inscribe

verb

in·​scribe in-ˈskrīb 

inscribed; inscribing; inscribes

transitive verb

1

a

: to write, engrave, or print as a lasting record

b

: to enter on a list : enroll

2

a

: to write, engrave, or print characters upon

b

: to autograph or address (a book) as a gift

3

: to dedicate to someone

4

: to draw within a figure so as to touch in as many places as possible

a regular polygon inscribed in a circle

5

British : to register the name of the holder of (a security)

inscriber noun

Synonyms

• engrave
• etch
• grave
• incise
• insculp [archaic]

Examples of inscribe in a Sentence

They inscribed the monument with the soldiers' names.

The book was inscribed with the author's signature.

Recent Examples on the Web

The committee opted for Maggi Hambling’s bust of Wilde, which emerges from a bench-like granite sarcophagus inscribed with a quote from the writer’s play, Lady Windermere’s Fan. —George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 23 Sep. 2024

The Rosetta Stone is inscribed with the same text in different scripts; Demotic, hieroglyphic and Greek. —Ashlyn Messier, Fox News, 18 Sep. 2024

The highest railway in Europe, this route is actually inscribed in the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites. —Laura Itzkowitz, Travel + Leisure, 6 Sep. 2024

Kazansky’s team used ultra-fast lasers to inscribe the human genome data into voids as small as 20 nanometers (a nanometer is about one-billionth of a meter). —Rosa Rahimi, CNN, 20 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin inscribere, from in- + scribere to write — more at scribe

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

inscribe

verb

in·​scribe in-ˈskrīb 

inscribed; inscribing

1

a

: to write, engrave, or print as a lasting record

inscribe a name on a monument

b

: to enter on a list : enroll

2

: to write, engrave, or print something on or in

inscribe a locket

3

: to dedicate to someone

inscribe a poem

4

: to draw within a figure so as to touch in as many places as possible

a hexagon inscribed in a circle

inscriber noun

Legal Definition

inscribe

transitive verb

in·​scribe

inscribed; inscribing

: to set down in writing (as the terms of a mortgage) to create a lasting public record

inscription noun