emboss
em·boss/əmˈbɔs/verb
emboss is spelled E-M-B-O-S-S: 6 letters and 2 syllables (em·boss). It appears about once in every 21 million words in written English, the 139,999th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, emboss means “To cause (something) to stick out or swell; to extrude; also, to cause (someone or something) to be covered in swellings” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in emboss?
| Letters | 6: E-M-B-O-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: em·boss |
| In writing | about once in every 21 million words; the 139,999th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is emboss?
Emboss appears about once in every 21 million words in written English, the 139,999th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce emboss?
- UK /ɪmˈbɒs/
- UK /ɛm-/
- US /əmˈbɔs/
Emboss has 2 syllables, split em·boss in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-emboss.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with emboss?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as emboss from its last stressed vowel (/ɔs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of emboss
- embosses present, singular, he/she/it
- embossing participle, present
- embossed participle, past
- imboss
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does emboss mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To cause (something) to stick out or swell; to extrude; also, to cause (someone or something) to be covered in swellings.
- 2
To make (a design on a coin, an ornament on an object, etc.) stand out from a surface.
- 3
To represent (a subject) on an object in relief; also, of a design or subject: to stand out on (an object) in relief.
- 4
To decorate or mark (something) with a design or symbol in relief.
The papers weren’t official until the seal had been embossed on them.
- 5
To decorate (something) with bosses (“ornamental convex protuberances”); to boss; hence, to decorate (something) richly.
- 6
To cause (something) to be prominent or stand out.
- 7
obsoleteTo make (speech, etc.) unduly bombastic or grand.
- 8
obsoleteOf a hunted animal: to take shelter in a forest or wood.
- 9
obsoleteTo drive (a hunted animal) to exhaustion by chasing it; to exhaust; hence, to make (a hunted animal) foam at the mouth due to exhaustion from being chased.
- 10
archaicTo cause (an animal's body, a person's mouth, etc.) to be covered with foam.
- 11
obsoleteTo cause (someone, their heart or soul, etc.) to become extremely fatigued; to exhaust.
- 12
obsoleteOf a person: to foam at the mouth; also (figurative), to be furious, to rage.
- 13
obsoleteTo enclose or suit (a person) in armour.
- 14
obsoleteTo enclose or surround (someone or something).
noun
- 1
obsoleterareSynonym of boss (“a knob or projection”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Emboss in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to decorate or mark (something) with a design or symbol in relief:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | bosseler, estamper, gaufrer |
| German | prägen |
| Spanish | abollar, repujar, relevar, relievar, abollonar, realzar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does emboss come from?
The verb is derived from Late Middle English embossen, embosen, embocen (“to be bloated; to bulge; to cause to bulge; to ornament in relief, emboss”) [and other forms], from Old French embocer (modern French embosser), from em- (a variant of en- (prefix meaning ‘in, into’)) + boce (“swelling”) + -er (suffix forming verbs); boce (“swelling”) is derived from Vulgar Latin *bottia (“a bump”), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *bautan (“to beat”), from Proto-Germanic *bautaną (“to beat; to bump, knock; to push”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).