chip at vs etch

chip at and etch both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
chip at	No	No	Yes	No
etch	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, etch is a hyponym of chip at; that is, etch is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than chip at:

Other hyponyms of chip at include chisel, engrave, grave, inscribe, scratch, engrave.

chip at (verb)	etch (verb)
engrave or cut by chipping away at a surface	selectively dissolve the surface of (a semiconductor or printed circuit) with a solvent, laser, or stream of electrons
	carve or cut a design or letters into
	make an etching of
	carve or cut into a block used for printing or print from such a block
	cause to stand out or be clearly defined or visible