imprint (something) on(to) (someone or something)
1. To print something, such as text, onto something else. How long do you think it will take for them to imprint that message on a t-shirt? For Dad's birthday, I want to imprint well wishes on signs and decorate the lawn with them. How much will it cost to imprint our company slogan onto a banner?
2. To retain something in one's memory. Being rejected by her crush has definitely imprinted a sense of anxiety on Sarah, at least as far as romantic relationships are concerned. I try to imprint the importance of strong morals onto my kids every day. I'm only on time because my mom imprinted it onto my brain that I needed to be here at 7:00.
3. Of a young animal, to recognize someone or something as its parent or a similarly trustworthy figure. In this usage, a noun or pronoun is not typically used between "imprint" and "on." That gosling seems to have imprinted on its caretaker at the rehabilitation center. Wow, that kitten always hisses at me, yet she seems to love you. I wonder if she's imprinted on you. The duckling imprinted on the girl who had hatched it in the incubator.
imprint on (someone or something)
1. Of a newborn animal, to form an early social bond with some person or other animal and recognize them as its parent as a result. The duckling imprinted on the girl who had hatched it in the incubator. Wow, that kitten always hisses at me, yet she seems to love you. I wonder if she's imprinted on you. That gosling seems to have imprinted on its caretaker at the rehabilitation center.
2. To impart a very strong or vivid impression in one's mind. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "imprint" and "on." The speaker imprinted a great sense of hope and vigor on the audience. The memory of that fateful meeting is forever imprinted on me. Unfortunately, the image of Grandpa in his boxers seems to be imprinted on my mind now. Gross.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
imprint something on(to) something
1. to print something onto something. We imprinted your name onto your stationery and your business cards. Please imprint my initials on this label.
2. and imprint something into something to record something firmly in the memory of someone. The severe accident imprinted a sense of fear onto Lucy's mind. Imprint the numbers into your brain and never forget them!
3. and imprint something into something to make a permanent record of something in an animal's brain. (As with newly hatched fowl, which imprint the image of the first moving creature they see into their brains.) The sight of its mother imprinted itself on the little gosling's brain. Nature imprints this information into the bird's memory.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.