inject
verb (used with object)
to force (a fluid) into a passage, cavity, or tissue.
inject
1 American
[in-jekt]
/ ɪnˈdʒɛkt /
verb (used with object)
-
injects,
present (3rd person singular)
-
injected,
past participle, past
-
injecting
present participle
-
to force (a fluid) into a passage, cavity, or tissue.
to inject a medicine into the veins.
-
to introduce (something new or different).
to inject humor into a situation.
-
to introduce arbitrarily or inappropriately; intrude.
-
to interject (a remark, suggestion, etc.), as into conversation.
inject.
2
American
abbreviation
inject
British
/ ɪnˈdʒɛkt /
verb
-
med to introduce (a fluid) into (the body of a person or animal) by means of a syringe or similar instrument
-
(foll by into) to introduce (a new aspect or element)
to inject humour into a scene
-
to interject (a comment, idea, etc)
-
to place (a rocket, satellite, etc) in orbit
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
injectsimple
-
injectssimple
-
have injectedperfect
-
has injectedperfect
-
am injectingprogressive
-
are injectingprogressive
-
is injectingprogressive
-
have been injectingperfect progressive
-
has been injectingperfect progressive
Past
-
injectedsimple
-
had injectedperfect
-
was injectingprogressive
-
were injectingprogressive
-
had been injectingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of inject1
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin injectus, past participle of in(j)icere “to throw in,” equivalent to in- “in” + -jec- (combining form of jac- “to throw”) + -tus past participle suffix; see in- 2
Origin of inject.2
From the Latin word injectiō
Explanation
To inject is to give an injection, or a shot. When your doctor tells you that you need a flu shot, she wants to inject you with a vaccine that will help keep you from getting sick. You are most likely to hear the verb inject at the doctor's office. Veterinarians inject dogs each year with rabies vaccines, and sometimes if you're sick enough, a doctor or nurse might need to inject you with antibiotics. You can use inject in a figurative way, too: "I'd like to inject a new topic into this conversation, it's getting so boring." The Latin root is inicere, "to throw in" or "to throw on."
Vocabulary lists containing inject
Vocabulary from the Poem “Touchscreen” by Marshall Davis Jones
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Latin Love, Vol II: iacere
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The Night Diary
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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:
Many will be all too familiar with debating how much information to include and how available you will be - and whether to inject some personality into your message, or even risk cracking a joke.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
The performance, perhaps intending to inject a note of potential menace, plays up Ru’s anger at the expense of his hurt — and comes off as grating and utterly unsympathetic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
He held lengthy TED Talk-style briefings, dressed casually and engaged with journalists, trying to inject energy into Ukraine's war machine, four years into the Russian invasion.
From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026
For Lilly and Novo Nordisk, anti-obesity pills are the next battleground for control of the market, an opportunity to capture people who didn’t want to inject themselves with shots.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
“Good to see you, too! Man, you’re looking buff! What did they inject you with?”
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
It also injects a bit of saliva, which contains anticoagulants to prevent the host’s blood from clotting as the mosquito feeds.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
He consistently injects pace into his team's attack with his direct nature both with and without the ball.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Set in a fictional black neighborhood in Ohio, “Sula” injects macabre horror and supernatural elements into its portrayal of an ecstatically intimate female friendship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
During the procedure, an interventional radiologist uses a thin catheter to reach the affected blood vessels and injects tiny particles that block blood flow to them.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 17, 2026
At one point Russell, who is diabetic, raises his shirt and injects himself in the stomach with insulin.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
He called on him to quit and injected further tales of alleged cruelty into the discussion.
From Slate ● Aug. 8, 2026
A few months ago, Pinchas Cohen learned of a thriving online trade in MOTS-c — a peptide that, when injected into mice, seems to mimic the effects of exercise.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Vaccines often need strict temperature control during storage and transportation, from the moment of manufacture up until being injected into a patient's arm.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
The government injected billions into banks, insurance giant AIG and the automobile industry to prevent the collapse of individual companies that would have jeopardized the economy and the financial system writ large if they failed.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
The players were injected with low levels of a chemical called raclo- pride.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
The process of hydraulic fracturing ekes out oil from older wells, and involves cracking the bedrock several thousand feet below the seafloor by injecting chemical fluids with intense pressure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
She also found that injecting activin into healthy, nonfused flatworms produced a similar inflammatory response.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
It would involve writing off nearly half of its debt and injecting new cash in return for leniency on future pollution fines.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
"Ceuzany is capable of injecting a bit of rap into coladeira. She is just as comfortable with urban music artists as she is with traditional ones," he said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
What they were injecting and why, I did not know.
From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien
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.
