en
noun
the letter N, n.
Showing results for en.
Search instead for
e-en.
Jump To:
-
en
-
EN
-
en-
en-a prefix occurring originally in loanwords from French and productive in English on this model, forming verbs with the general sense “to cause (a person or thing) to be in” the place, condition, or state named by the stem; more specifically, “to confine in or place on” (enshrine; enthrone; entomb ); “to cause to be in” (enslave; entrust; enrich; encourage; endear ); “to restrict” in the manner named by the stem, typically with the additional sense “on all sides, completely” (enwind; encircle; enclose; entwine ). This prefix is also attached to verbs in order to make them transitive, or to give them a transitive marker if they are already transitive (enkindle; enliven; enshield; enface ).
-
-en
-ena suffix formerly used to form transitive and intransitive verbs from adjectives (fasten; harden; sweeten ), or from nouns (heighten; lengthen; strengthen ).
en
1 American
[en]
/ ɛn /
noun
-
the letter N, n.
-
Also called nut. Printing. half of the width of an em.
adjective
EN
2
American
abbreviation
Biology, Ecology.
en-
3
American
en-
4
American
-en
5
American
-en
6
American
-en
7
American
-en
8
American
-en
9
American
en-
1
British
prefix
-
(from nouns)
-
put in or on
entomb
enthrone
-
go on or into
enplane
-
surround or cover with
enmesh
-
furnish with
empower
-
-
(from adjectives and nouns) cause to be in a certain condition
enable
encourage
enrich
enslave
EN
2
British
abbreviation
-
enrolled nurse
-
English Nature
-en
3
British
suffix
-en
4
British
suffix
en-
5
British
prefix
en
6
British
/ ɛn /
noun
Etymology
Origin of en1
First recorded in 1785–95
Origin of en-3
Middle English < Old French < Latin in- in- 2
Origin of en-4
From Greek (often through Latin ); cognate with in- 1, in- 2
Origin of -en5
Middle English, Old English -n- (as in Middle English fastnen, Old English fǣstnian “to make fast, fasten”); cognate with -n- of like verbs in other Germanic languages ( Old Norse fastna )
Origin of -en6
Middle English, Old English; cognate with Old High German -īn, Gothic -eins, Latin -īnus; see -ine 1
Origin of -en7
Middle English, Old English; cognate with German -en, Old Norse -inn
Origin of -en8
Middle English; Old English -an, case ending of n-stem nouns, as in naman oblique singular, and nominative and accusative plural of nama “name”; akin to n-stem forms in other Indo-European languages, as in Latin nōmen, nōmin- “name”
Origin of -en9
Middle English, Old English, from neuter of -en 2
Vocabulary lists containing en
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:
While one vehicle carries the president, the other travels nearby as a decoy, switching locations while en route to the destination.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
The smaller plane then flew to the U.K., where Trump stopped en route to Washington, under a nondescript call sign.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump first got interested in Albania while on a yacht trip through the Mediterranean after Trump’s first term, dropping anchor en route between Montenegro and Greece.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
President Trump was aboard the “bridge” Air Force One en route to Los Angeles when the Sheriff’s Department announced the arrest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
While Palsson was en route to Japan, a group of stalwart Icelanders met in Reykjavik to discuss whether there was any way asylum could be offered to Fischer.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Erin Marshall, a US interior designer, actually specialises in EN renovations.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 21, 2019
At EN, a Japanese brasserie in the West Village, a waiter presented him with a small wooden box containing a Shout stain-remover towelette, a white cloth napkin, and a white paper napkin.
From The New Yorker ● Sep. 10, 2018
PARIS— Bouygues SA, EN 4.07 % the French construction-to-media conglomerate, has taken a clear step toward choosing a successor to Chairman and Chief Executive Martin Bouygues by naming two more deputy CEOs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2016
EN ROUTE Mr. Green uploads photographs to his website, imjustwalking.com.
From New York Times ● Mar. 24, 2012
This first architectural upholsterer of the age, as he styled himself, and was universally admitted to be by all the world of fashion, then, with full powers given to him, spoke EN MAITRE.
From The Absentee by Maria Edgeworth
We en- courage states to continue to fight this public men- ace and pledge our commitment to children’s safety and well-being.
From Time ● Jul. 18, 2016
He en- tered the house shouting, “Hey, where are you?”
From MSNBC ● Oct. 22, 2014
In en- gineering innovations Westinghouse has kept in stride with Otis by matching Otis' double-decker elevators in Manhattan's Cities Service Building with a system for running two elevators in the same shaft.
From Time Magazine Archive
The week concluded with a particularly pleasant chore: mingling amiably with the 3,500 en- tering freshmen at Liberty University, his proudest creation.
From Time Magazine Archive
In 1886 the big packing-house strike broke out in Chicago and Adam’s regiment en- trained, but the strike was settled before they were needed.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
All three have names that end in -en, which may or may not be relevant.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 13, 2021
In English works of the fourteenth century the -en of the Midland, and the -es of the Northumbrian is frequently dropped, thus gradually approximating to our modern conjugation.
From Early English Alliterative Poems in the West-Midland Dialect of the Fourteenth Century by Richard Morris
The accusative ending -en was sometimes extended to the 46 dative, and the dative ending -e to the accusative.
From A Middle High German Primer Third Edition by Joseph Wright
In Anglo-Saxon it always ended in -en, as sungen, funden, bunden.
From A Handbook of the English Language by R. G. (Robert Gordon) Latham
The corresponding Southern verbal inflexion -eth never occurs; while the Midland -en is only occasionally met with in the third person plural present, and has been introduced by a later copyist.
From Early English Alliterative Poems in the West-Midland Dialect of the Fourteenth Century by Richard Morris
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.
