Etch
noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 Obsolete form of eddish. alt-of, obsolete
"Black Oats are commonly sown upon an Etch Crop, or on a Lay which they plow up in January, when the Earth is moist, taking care to turn the Turf well, and to lay it even and flat."
- 1 To cut into a surface with an acid or other corrosive substance in order to make a pattern. Best known as a technique for creating printing plates, but also used for decoration on metal, and, in modern industry, to make circuit boards.
- 2 selectively dissolve the surface of (a semiconductor or printed circuit) with a solvent, laser, or stream of electrons wordnet
- 3 To engrave a surface.
- 4 carve or cut a design or letters into wordnet
- 5 To make a lasting impression. figuratively
"The memory of 9/11 is etched into my mind."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 carve or cut into a block used for printing or print from such a block wordnet
- 7 To sketch; to delineate.
"There are many such empty terms to be found in some learned writers, to which they had recourse to etch out their system."
- 8 make an etching of wordnet
- 9 cause to stand out or be clearly defined or visible wordnet
Example
More examples"If you don't wash away the acid quickly, it will etch its way into the metal."
Etymology
From Dutch etsen (“to etch”), from German ätzen (“to etch”), from Old High German azzon (“to cause to bite or feed”), from Proto-Germanic *atjaną, causative of *etaną (“to eat”) (whence also English eat).
Related phrases
More for "etch"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.