imprint
Americannoun
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a mark made by pressure; a mark or figure impressed or printed on something.
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any impression or impressed effect.
He left the imprint of his thought on all succeeding scholars.
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Bibliography.
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the name of a book's publisher printed on the title page or elsewhere, usually with the place and date of publication.
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the statement of such information in a bibliographic description of a printed work.
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a name, title, or other designation by which all or certain specific books of a publisher are identified.
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any marketing name used by a company or organization for a product line; brand or label.
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the printer's name and address as indicated on any printed matter.
verb (used with object)
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to impress (a quality, character, distinguishing mark, etc.).
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to produce (a mark) on something by pressure.
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to bestow, as a kiss.
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to fix firmly on the mind, memory, etc.
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Animal Behavior, Psychology. to acquire or establish by imprinting.
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to make an imprint upon.
verb (used without object)
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to make an impression; have an effect.
noun
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a mark or impression produced by pressure, printing, or stamping
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a characteristic mark or indication; stamp
the imprint of great sadness on his face
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the publisher's name and address, usually with the date of publication, in a book, pamphlet, etc
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the printer's name and address on any printed matter
verb
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to produce (a mark, impression, etc) on (a surface) by pressure, printing, or stamping
to imprint a seal on wax
to imprint wax with a seal
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to establish firmly; impress; stamp
to imprint the details on one's mind
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(of young animals) to undergo the process of imprinting
Other Word Forms
- imprinter noun
- reimprint verb (used with object)
- unimprinted adjective
Etymology
Origin of imprint
1325–75; im- 1 + print; replacing Middle English empreynten < Middle French empreinter, derivative of empreinte, feminine past participle of empreindre < Latin imprimere to impress 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They’ve slugged it out on the metalcore and heavy rock circuit for a decade, signed to the small-ish but influential imprint Sumerian Records.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026
He was a hungry editor at a new imprint who needed to take risks to compete.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026
Greeley succeeds Jonathan Karp, who was named CEO in May 2020 and last August said he would step down as CEO and launch a new Simon & Schuster imprint called Simon Six.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026
At a previous High Court hearing, lawyers for Matt Goodwin and his election agent Adam Rawlinson acknowledged some election leaflets had failed to include a "statutory imprint", something which constituted "inadvertent illegal practice".
From BBC • Feb. 25, 2026
“Your eyas is very hungry. I don’t want to feed her. She will imprint on me and think she’s a person. Then she will never mate with her kind.”
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
