enroll
Americanverb (used with object)
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to write the name of (a person) in a roll or register; place upon a list; register.
It took two days to enroll the new students.
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to enlist (oneself ).
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to put in a record; record.
to enroll the minutes of a meeting; to enroll the great events of history.
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to roll or wrap up.
fruit enrolled in tissue paper.
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Nautical. to document (a U.S. vessel) by issuing a certificate of enrollment.
verb (used without object)
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of enroll
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English enrollen, from Old French enroller. See en- 1, roll
Explanation
If you like clowning around but you're not quite ready for the circus, you could enroll in clown college to perfect your skills. When you enroll, that means you formally add your name to the list — or roll — of students. You can enroll in things other than schools or classes, and you can also enroll someone else. You might enroll your Chihuahua in a research project investigating whether dogs like to wear hats, or you could enroll your rude nephew in charm school. The "roll" of enroll goes back to the rolls of parchment that were used in medieval times for writing official documents.
Vocabulary lists containing enroll
The Circuit
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Education and Academics, List 1
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"An Early Start on College"
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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:
In September 2025, Amazon agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle allegations that it used deceptive practices to enroll consumers in Amazon Prime and made it difficult to cancel subscriptions.
From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026
"The owners who enroll their dogs make everything possible," Creevy said.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 29, 2026
Asked if she would enroll in a U.S. college if she had to do it over again, she said she wouldn’t.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
She expects the major to eventually enroll 150 to 300 students.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
I also told them that I would like to enroll as soon as possible—in the mid-year January semester.
From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos
For the first clinical trial evaluating both the safety and effectiveness of CD19 CAR T-cell therapy in rheumatoid arthritis, the Charité team initially enrolled six patients with especially severe disease.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
To compare their effects, Klein and his colleagues enrolled 42 people with obesity, prediabetes, and fatty liver disease in a clinical trial.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 29, 2026
Nevertheless, she committed herself to painting and enrolled in a Kyoto art school in 1948 to study the traditional Nihonga style, but found its strictures provincial and stifling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Johnson said he expects an eventual cohort of about 50 new students each year, and 200 students enrolled in the major at a time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
He also enrolled Ben and Mary Anne in the Wednesday-night catechism class sponsored by the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
“And then this year being like, there’s not enough students enrolling: ‘Oh no.’”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
Field trips to the museum begin Sept. 18, though the Broad is still enrolling schools in the program.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
After enrolling in what he assumed would be an easy acting class during his senior year of high school, Zucker became obsessed with improv and comedy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
A 2022 study found that enrolling in a Medicare Advantage plan didn’t lead to improvements in older adults with diabetes.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
Joinville smiled slyly at William and then said to Sorbonne, “Maybe you would consider enrolling him in your college?”
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
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.
