Etching meaning : To cut into a surface with an acid or other corrosive substance in order to make a pattern. Best known as a technique for creating printing plates, but also used for decoration on metal, and, in modern industry, to make circuit boards. To engrave a surface. To make a lasting impression. To sketch; to delineate. The art of producing an image from a metal plate into which an image or text has been etched with acid. The image created by this process.