entrance
1 Americannoun
-
entrances
plural
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an act of entering, as into a place or upon new duties.
- Antonyms:
- exit
-
a point or place of entering; an opening or passage for entering, as a doorway.
- Antonyms:
- exit
-
the right, privilege, or permission to enter; admission.
People improperly dressed will be refused entrance to the theater.
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Theater. the moment or place in the script at which an actor comes on the stage.
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Music.
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the point in a musical score at which a particular voice or instrument joins the ensemble.
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the way in which this is done.
a sloppy entrance.
-
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a manner, means, or style of entering a room, group, etc.; way of coming into view.
She mimicked Joan's entrance.
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Nautical. the immersed portion of a hull forward of the middle body (opposed to run).
noun
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the act or an instance of entering; entry
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a place for entering, such as a door or gate
-
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the power, liberty, or right of entering; admission
-
( as modifier )
an entrance fee
-
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the coming of an actor or other performer onto a stage
verb
-
to fill with wonder and delight; enchant
-
to put into a trance; hypnotize
Synonym Usage
Entrance, admittance, admission refer to the possibility of entering a place or a group. Entrance may refer to either possibility: Entrance is by way of the side door; entrance into a card game. Admittance refers more to place and suggests entrance that may be permitted or denied: to gain admittance to a building; no admittance. Admission refers more to special groups and suggests entrance by payment, by formal or special permission, privilege, and the like: admission to a concert, a game, to candidacy, the bar, to society.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
entrancesimple
-
entrancessimple
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have entrancedperfect
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has entrancedperfect
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am entrancingprogressive
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are entrancingprogressive
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is entrancingprogressive
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have been entrancingperfect progressive
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has been entrancingperfect progressive
Past
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entrancedsimple
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had entrancedperfect
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was entrancingprogressive
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were entrancingprogressive
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had been entrancingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of entrance1
First recorded in 1525–50; from Middle French; see enter, -ance
Origin of entrance2
Explanation
As a noun, entrance means an act of entering or something that provides a way to enter something. You can make a grand entrance when you arrive at a party, as long as you can actually find the entrance. Entrance has two pronunciations. If you put the accent on the first syllable, the word is a noun meaning the act of entering or the way into something ("an entrance to the building"). If the accent is on the second syllable, then entrance is a verb meaning "to enchant, charm, or enamor" — "You will be entranced by the movie; the scenery looks so real you will swear it is growing in the theater."
Vocabulary lists containing entrance
Beowulf vocabulary
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myPerspectives 9.2
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Gene Wilder (1933-2016) Tribute 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:
Guests are welcomed by a gorgeous entrance with 10-foot ceilings, where striped wallpaper, crown molding, and large arched doorways immediately set the tone.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
Giant screens display recreations of bunks in Nazi concentration camps and the entrance to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
The entrance to the loft space is flanked by colorful, translucent plastic strips, allowing light and people to easily pass through.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
For the six-story glass rotunda that serves as the entrance, architects picked wood from the Republic of Congo and white granite from India’s Kashmir.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
“A door made of golden ivy. It was an entrance to a place called the Forever Gardens,” she said.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
French students have blocked the entrances to hundreds of high schools across the country since late September to demand better conditions, in protests that have descended into sporadic clashes with security forces.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
However, any foods identified in the rules, whether part of a meal deal or not, cannot be placed in the restricted locations, such as supermarket entrances.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Residents noticed increased security in recent weeks—more police patrolling the surrounding area and entrances to the base blocked by heavy equipment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
Soon, local men were standing guard in shifts at the two entrances into town, aiming their weapons at trucks laden with freshly picked avocados and cars packed with farmhands as they demanded identity documents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
In later poets there are various entrances to it from the earth through caverns and beside deep lakes.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
In an attempt to parody the hit horror movie “Obsession” released earlier this year, the 60-second commercial showed Clark as someone so entranced by his new driver that he wouldn’t let anyone else touch it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
"I'm entranced by Mr Haaland," said Miami resident Robert, speaking to BBC Mundo.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Jagger, entranced by the sounds coming out of New York’s discos at the time, contributed the No. 1 “Miss You.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
That becomes a problem when, after one of their weekly lunches, the three friends stroll around a furniture store, where Camille is entranced by a gorgeous chair she can’t possibly afford.
From Salon ● Feb. 18, 2026
Those who were entranced by his energy and vision thrived under the pressure; everyone else could only submit and simmer—or go.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Evelina Fernández’s “Antigone: In the Language of Kings” receives a theatrically entrancing staging at the Getty Villa’s Outdoor Theater in a production co-produced with Latino Theater Company.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
There’s a grounded, earthy lyricism to the images captured in “Esta Isla” that show a Puerto Rico that’s at once lush and entrancing but also undiscovered and unseen in cinema.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
The 17th-century painter’s depiction of the biblical figure, who has left behind her life of sin, is a work of entrancing details and pervading stillness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
The lyric, "I'll cry my eyes violet", refers to the star's famously entrancing eyes; and the line "what could you possibly get for the girl who has everything" namechecks one of her films.
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2026
I had never before driven on roads between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, and I was looking forward to many miles of entrancing scenery.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
