English Reference
Noun

engraving

n. C / U
C1 Advanced US /ɪnˈɡɹeɪvɪŋ/ UK /ɛnɡɹˈeɪvɪŋ/ en·grav·ing UK spelling engravings Art Music Printing

n.a picture or design made by cutting lines into a hard surface like metal, wood, or glass. It can also mean the act of making these marks.

n.a print made from an incised plate, or the process of incising a design into a hard surface. Often used to refer to the physical object produced by this technique.


SIMPLE

The old book contains a beautiful engraving of the city.

CONTEXTUAL

The artist spent weeks on the intricate engraving, carefully carving every detail into the copper plate.

COMPLEX

Nineteenth-century journals often relied on steel engraving to produce the sharp, fine lines necessary for detailed botanical illustrations and architectural diagrams.

Usage

Uncountable when referring to the art form or process; countable when referring to a specific print or piece of art.

Five engravings by the Brazilian artist Candido Portinari that were also taken during the robbery have not yet been recovered.

BBC News· 14 Aug 2026

More than 60,000 years ago, humans in southern Africa were engraving ostrich eggshells with intricate geometric patterns that appear far more organized than previously realized.

ScienceDaily· 9 Aug 2026

By surface analysis, engrave + -ing.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Frequent
Updated