enlist
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
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to engage for military service.
to enlist men for the army.
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to secure (a person, services, etc.) for some cause, enterprise, etc..
They enlisted us to serve as ushers at the meeting.
verb
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to enter or persuade to enter into an engagement to serve in the armed forces
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(tr) to engage or secure (a person, his services, or his support) for a venture, cause, etc
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to enter into or join an enterprise, cause, etc
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of enlist
Explanation
To enlist is to voluntarily join the military. You may have seen television commercials or posters encouraging people to enlist. There are various ways people end up in the military. Sometimes there's a draft, which selects people whether they want to go or not. Sometimes people enlist, which means they sign up on their own. Enlisting also refers to recruiting or hiring people for some purpose or organization. If you are moving, you might try to enlist your friends to help — good luck with that.
Vocabulary lists containing enlist
Veterans Day Vocabulary
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Memorial Day: Words of Respect and Remembrance
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Code Talker
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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.
Enlist a friend’s help if necessary, and pull furniture away from the walls to get hidden dust and dirt.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 16, 2024
In Georgia, where the restrictions were enacted because of concern for frosted and flatwood salamanders, the decision meant Enlist Duo could not be used on more than 385,000 hectares of cotton, corn, and soybean crops.
From Science Magazine • Oct. 31, 2023
Enlist a fiduciary adviser to help you figure out how to protect your assets, marital and individual, in the case of illness, death, divorce or natural disaster.
From Washington Post • Jun. 26, 2022
Test the hypothesis: Enlist 24 participants, and split them into two groups of 12.
From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022
—Dies Iræ 127 X. —I Enlist the Services of a Minion 137 XI.
From Love Among the Chickens A Story of the Haps and Mishaps on an English Chicken Farm by Both, Armand
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
