刊刻 is a formal, literary verb meaning to engrave text onto woodblocks or stone tablets—a traditional method of printing in pre-modern China—or, by extension, to publish a book or edition. The first character 刊 (kān) originally meant 'to cut away' or 'to revise,' often used for editing texts before publication; the second character 刻 (kè) means 'to carve' or 'to engrave.' Together, they evoke the physical act of carving characters into durable material to produce printed copies.

Historically, 刊刻 was central to Chinese book culture: scholars would commission artisans to 刊刻 classics, Buddhist sutras, or local gazetteers for preservation and dissemination. Today, it appears mainly in historical, academic, or bibliographic contexts—such as describing ancient editions (e.g., Song-dynasty 刊刻本) or metaphorically referring to the careful production of authoritative texts. It is rarely used for modern digital publishing.