inscribe
/ɪnˈskɹaɪb/
"inscribe" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“inscribe” is an uncommon English word, ranked #75,995 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #75,995
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To write or cut (words) onto (something, especially a hard surface, or a book to be given to another person); to engrave.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | inscribe |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ɪnˈskɹaɪb/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #75,995 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “inscribe” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for inscribe is 8 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪnˈskɹaɪb/. Corpus data places it at rank #75,995 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
inscribe has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin īnscrībō, from in- (“upon”) and scrībō (“to write”). The correct English form is inscribe, spelled I-N-S-C-R-I-B-E.
Definition
- 1To write or cut (words) onto (something, especially a hard surface, or a book to be given to another person); to engrave.
- 2To dedicate to someone.
- 3To enter on a document or list; to enroll.
- 4To draw a circle, sphere, etc. inside a polygon, polyhedron, etc. and tangent to all its sides.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin īnscrībō, from in- (“upon”) and scrībō (“to write”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "inscribe"?
What does "inscribe" mean?
How do you pronounce "inscribe"?
What is the origin of the word "inscribe"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “inscribe”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-N-S-C-R-I-B-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪnˈskɹaɪb/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.