engross
Americanverb (used with object)
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engrosses,
present (3rd person singular)
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engrossed,
past participle, past
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engrossing
present participle
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to occupy completely, as the mind or attention; absorb.
Their discussion engrossed his attention.
She is engrossed in her work.
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to write or copy in a clear, attractive, large script or in a formal manner, as a public document or record.
to engross a deed.
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to acquire the whole of (a commodity), in order to control the market; monopolize.
verb
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to occupy one's attention completely; absorb
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to write or copy (manuscript) in large legible handwriting
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law to write or type out formally (a deed, agreement, or other document) preparatory to execution
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another word for corner
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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engrosssimple
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engrossessimple
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have engrossedperfect
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has engrossedperfect
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am engrossingprogressive
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are engrossingprogressive
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is engrossingprogressive
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have been engrossingperfect progressive
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has been engrossingperfect progressive
Past
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engrossedsimple
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had engrossedperfect
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was engrossingprogressive
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were engrossingprogressive
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had been engrossingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of engross
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English engros(s)en “to gather in large quantities, draft (a will, etc.) in final form,” from Anglo-French engrosser, partly from Medieval Latin ingrossāre “to thicken, write large and thick” ( Latin in- in- 2 + gross(us) “thick” + -āre infinitive suffix); partly from Anglo-French, Middle French en gros “in quantity, wholesale,” from Latin in + grossus; see gross
Explanation
Engross is a verb that means to consume all of your attention or time. Once you engross yourself in the culture of high salaries and unlimited spending accounts, it's hard to go back to cooking at a sandwich shop. Engross first came into English in the 1400s from the Old French word en gros, meaning "in bulk, at wholesale." By the 1700s the word had taken on the meaning of "absorb the whole attention." Immersing yourself fully in something can be good or bad. If you're studying Shakespeare, you want the plays to engross you so you don't lose focus. But if your video games engross you so much that you forget to shower or eat, that's a problem.
Vocabulary lists containing engross
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 4
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ACT Vocabulary List
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
This discovery of Orage’s significance in Katherine Mansfield’s life and work matters to scholars, but Ms. Kimber misjudges how much it might engross readers of a biography.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
Whatever their inspirations, Neuman’s pictures are visual machines that both engross and propel the viewer’s eye.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 29, 2022
Narratives of injury engross us because they point to tangible harms — blindings and burns and broken bones.
From New York Times ● Apr. 21, 2022
From the high-intensity action set pieces to the quieter moments, like riding on horseback or cooking a meal, Red Dead Redemption 2 is a game that will absolutely engross you if you let it.
From The Verge ● Dec. 17, 2018
He could engross himself in an inconsequential task for hours without growing restless or bored, as oblivious to fatigue as the stump of a tree, and almost as taciturn.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
It engrosses two floors of the Breuer with art of total mastery that also, at every turn, casts doubt on its own achievement.
From New York Times ● Mar. 5, 2020
But the nuclear family more urgently tugging on Caroline’s apron and heart strings — her children and friends — is the one that on this occasion engrosses an audience most satisfyingly.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 5, 2017
It engrosses, it stuns, it distracts, and it overwhelms.
From The New Yorker ● May 18, 2015
And as a movie, A.I. engrosses without quite enthralling.
From Time Magazine Archive
Do you not see how entirely she engrosses the attention of an important personage?
From The Lamplighter by Maria S. Cummins
They became engrossed in conversation, Evans said in the letter, which describes him falling in love during that first meeting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
For a time, Djokovic was cast as the villain - the disruptor to the Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal rivalry that so engrossed fans.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Like millions worldwide, my family and I have been deeply, and in our case, weirdly, engrossed in this year’s games.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
We caught a young plastic toy vendor, engrossed on his phone, sitting on a concrete pillar that recorded 56.9C.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
Bobby soaked sometimes for hours as he became engrossed in the games of the greats, only emerging from the water, prune-like, when Regina insisted.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
The authors’ examinations of justice, freedom, authority and other elements of Viking social and political life are similarly engrossing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Mr. Warrick uses the passage as an epigraph for his engrossing biography.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
The safety car confusion was just the final episode in a race that was always engrossing but had ratcheted up several notches in the final 20 laps or so.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
That engrossing yourself in every meticulous step — from measuring out your own leavening agents to bringing your butter and eggs to room temperature — is what qualifies as real baking.
From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2026
She is less ready to talk about the second wife, the new, engrossing family, stepbrothers and sisters the age of her own little one.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
