NOUN (2)

1. (dentistry) a filling consisting of a solid substance (as gold or porcelain) fitted to a cavity in a tooth and cemented into place;

2. a decoration made by fitting pieces of wood into prepared slots in a surface;


VERB (1)

1. decorate the surface of by inserting wood, stone, and metal;

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Inlay \In"lay`\, n.
   Matter or pieces of wood, ivory, etc., inlaid, or prepared
   for inlaying; that which is inserted or inlaid for ornament
   or variety; as, ornamented with ivory inlay.
   [1913 Webster]

         Crocus and hyacinth with rich inlay
         Broidered the ground.                    --Milton.
   [1913 Webster]

         The sloping of the moonlit sward
         Was damask work, and deep inlay
         Of braided blooms.                       --Tennyson.
   [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Inlay \In*lay"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Inlaied; p. pr. & vb. n.
   Inlaying.]
   To lay within; hence, to insert, as pieces of pearl, ivory,
   mother-of-pearl, choice woods, or the like, in a groundwork
   of some other material; to form an ornamental surface; to
   diversify or adorn with insertions.
   [1913 Webster]

         Look, how the floor of heaven
         Is thick inlaid with patines of bright gold. --Shak.
   [1913 Webster]

         But these things are . . . borrowed by the monks to
         inlay their story.                       --Milton.
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

inlay
    n 1: (dentistry) a filling consisting of a solid substance (as
         gold or porcelain) fitted to a cavity in a tooth and
         cemented into place
    2: a decoration made by fitting pieces of wood into prepared
       slots in a surface
    v 1: decorate the surface of by inserting wood, stone, and metal

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

40 Moby Thesaurus words for "inlay":
   bed, bed in, bush, bushing, ceil, doubling, doublure, embed, face,
   facing, feather, fill, filler, filling, fit in, fur, implant,
   infix, inlayer, insert, insertion, inset, insole, interline,
   interlineation, line, liner, lining, load, pack, packing, pad,
   padding, stuff, stuffing, tessellate, tessera, wad, wadding,
   wainscot