enlist
Americanverb (used without object)
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enlists,
present (3rd person singular)
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enlisted,
past participle, past
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enlisting
present participle
verb (used with object)
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enlists,
present (3rd person singular)
-
enlisted,
past participle, past
-
enlisting
present participle
-
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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enlistsimple
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enlistssimple
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have enlistedperfect
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has enlistedperfect
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am enlistingprogressive
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are enlistingprogressive
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is enlistingprogressive
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have been enlistingperfect progressive
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has been enlistingperfect progressive
Past
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enlistedsimple
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had enlistedperfect
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was enlistingprogressive
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were enlistingprogressive
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had been enlistingperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
This included BTS members, who were at the height of their fame in 2022 when they started taking career breaks to enlist in the military.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
If you enlist AI for financial advice, you’ll certainly get it.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
It would allow parties to enlist the help of wealthy donors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
Today, he strains to explain his decision to enlist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
A great football, track, and baseball star, Sam Ransom, traveled all the way from Minneapolis to sign up with the Eighth, and a track star, Binga Dismond, left his medical school studies to enlist.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
When he discovers an otherworldly portal through the wall of his basement office, he enlists his younger employees to help him explore the strange rooms with a rope tied around their waist, à la “Poltergeist.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
Our protagonist comes from a nondescript family, attends a minor boarding school, falls in love with Oxford, enlists in the British army and is transformed forever by a trip to North Africa.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
ABG enlists outside operators to run the brands.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 5, 2026
There will also be a rather literal interpretation of comedy series Amandaland that enlists a string of famous Amandas, and a performance from singer-songwriter Calum Scott.
From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2026
I guess he enlists you to play, too.
From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick
While Kim grew closer to Kremlin-linked businessmen, her newly estranged husband, Bakalchuk, enlisted the support of Ramzan Kadyrov, a former warlord and current head of Chechnya who intervenes in business disputes in return for cash.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
He enlisted in the US Navy during the Vietnam War before embarking on a career in acting.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
To play the wily Kanbei, Kurosawa enlisted his young “Cloud” star Suda, whom he calls a genius.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
Officials said he was enlisted in the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
The fixed, vacant, wooden stares of his two enlisted men were even more irritating than always.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
The exercise -- enlisting 18,000 South Korean troops and counterparts from US forces in the country -- will have a heightened focus on drone warfare, GPS disruption and the role of cyber attacks, he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
Actually, it’s Stuart from an alternative universe enlisting him to restore things with the help of a malfunctioned quantum interference device created by Sheldon, Leonard and Howard.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
She then sent an email on Levi’s behalf, enlisting these allies to share the novel with their friends, book clubs, church groups, libraries and local bookstores.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
Starbucks is shifting its marketing strategy, enlisting social-media stars like MrBeast and increasing spending on ads and sponsorships.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026
Carlos was always trying to get away with something, or at least he used to be like that before enlisting, but Alex found that rules imposed a structure, and he preferred that.
From "The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer
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.
