ingrain

[ verb in-greyn; adjective, noun in-greyn ]
See synonyms for: ingrainingrained on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to implant or fix deeply and firmly, as in the nature or mind.

adjective
  1. ingrained; firmly fixed.

  2. (of fiber or yarn) dyed in a raw state, before being woven or knitted.

  1. made of fiber or yarn so dyed: ingrain fabric.

  2. (of carpets) made of ingrain yarn and so woven as to show a different pattern on each side; reversible.

noun
  1. yarn, wool, etc., dyed before manufacture.

  2. an ingrain carpet.

Origin of ingrain

1
First recorded in 1760–70; originally phrase (dyed) in grain (i.e., with kermes)
  • Also en·grain [en-greyn] /ɛnˈgreɪn/ (for defs. 1, 2) .

Other words for ingrain

Words Nearby ingrain

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use ingrain in a sentence

  • Whereupon Mufty, finding himself dropped upon the coldly unsympathetic ingrain carpet, desisted from further encouraging remarks.

    A Bookful of Girls | Anna Fuller
  • But I never can—I'm like him, every one says so, and he says the heedlessness is ingrain, and can't be got rid of.

    The Daisy Chain | Charlotte Yonge
  • Between the pews, in the aisle, the violent vermilion of a strip of ingrain carpet assaulted the eye.

    The Octopus | Frank Norris
  • On the floor was a much used and faded ingrain carpet, in one place worn through by the edge of a loose board.

    David Harum | Edward Noyes Westcott
  • She felt her feet sink luxuriously into the rugs, oh, so different from the threadbare ingrain carpet at home!

    Jewel Weed | Alice Ames Winter

British Dictionary definitions for ingrain

ingrain

verb(ɪnˈɡreɪn) (tr)
  1. to impress deeply on the mind or nature; instil

  2. archaic to dye into the fibre of (a fabric)

adjective(ˈɪnˌɡreɪn)
  1. variants of ingrained

  2. (of woven or knitted articles, esp rugs and carpets) made of dyed yarn or of fibre that is dyed before being spun into yarn

noun(ˈɪnˌɡreɪn)
    • a carpet made from ingrained yarn

    • such yarn

Origin of ingrain

1
C18: from the phrase dyed in grain dyed with kermes through the fibre

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012