Meaning & use
engraver
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Meanings
nouncountable
A person whose job is cutting letters or pictures into metal, glass, wood, or stone.
Grammar: Countable: say an engraver or two engravers.
Patterns
- a skilled engraver
- work as an engraver
- an engraver of something
Her grandfather was a skilled engraver who worked on silver cups and trophies.
The jeweler sent the ring to an engraver to have the couple's initials cut inside.
He trained as an engraver before he became a full-time painter.
nouncountabletechnical
A tool or machine that cuts a design into a hard surface.
Grammar: Countable and usually used with a modifier, as in a laser engraver.
Patterns
- a laser engraver
- use an engraver on something
The workshop bought a laser engraver to mark serial numbers on the parts.
She pressed the engraver gently against the glass to scratch the pattern.
Word forms
| plural | engravers |
|---|
Common combinations
- a skilled engraver
- The museum hired a skilled engraver to restore the old coins.
- work as an engraver
- After art school, she worked as an engraver for a printing company.
- a glass engraver
- A glass engraver added our names to the award.
- a laser engraver
- The sign shop uses a laser engraver for fine lettering.
- hand engraving
- The bracelet shows the fine lines of hand engraving.
Synonyms and how they differ
- carver
- A carver shapes wood or stone with a knife or chisel, while an engraver cuts fine lines into a surface, often metal or glass.
- etcher
- An etcher uses acid to bite a design into a metal plate, whereas an engraver cuts the lines with a sharp tool.
- printmaker
- A printmaker makes pictures to be printed, which may or may not involve engraving.
Word family
Commonly confused: engraver or engrave? engraver or engrosser?
engraver vs engrave
Engrave is the verb meaning to cut a design into something; engraver is the person or tool that does it.
engraver vs engrosser
An engrosser writes documents in large formal letters, which is a different job from cutting designs into metal.
Practice
Which sentence uses "engraver" correctly?
Choose one answer.
"Engraver" is a noun for a person or tool, so "She is an engraver who cuts designs into silver" fits. The others wrongly use it as a verb, where "engraved" or "engraves" is needed.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “engraver”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.