en
noun
the letter N, n.
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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 ).
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-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
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the letter N, n.
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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
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American
-en
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American
-en
9
American
en-
1
British
prefix
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(from nouns)
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put in or on
entomb
enthrone
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go on or into
enplane
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surround or cover with
enmesh
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furnish with
empower
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(from adjectives and nouns) cause to be in a certain condition
enable
encourage
enrich
enslave
EN
2
British
abbreviation
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enrolled nurse
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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:
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
“My first game back, I was a little bit anxious,” Díaz said after giving up two hits and a run to the Mariners en route to recording the save on Wednesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
In hard-hit areas like Le Porge, experts say insects will have perished en masse and larger creatures from toads to lizards will not have been spared either.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
Hearing the futile spinning of tires, neighbors came out en masse to figure out how to solve the problem.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
At the close of the meeting, UOCI’s newly elected president, Rubye Gattis, a twenty-eight-year-old mother of four, led members out of the gym and they headed downtown, en masse, bringing traffic to a standstill.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
Restaurant It’s a tie between EN Japanese Brasserie and Blue Ribbon in New York, which I guess you’d call high-level comfort food.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 19, 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
In June, French conglomerate Bouygues SA EN 0.32 % rebuffed Mr. Drahi’s offer to buy its telecom unit for €10 billion, or about $11 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2015
EN ROUTE Mr. Green uploads photographs to his website, imjustwalking.com.
From New York Times ● Mar. 24, 2012
Before mounting, however, I was mobbed by the tumbling family, EN MASSE, who went on their knees in their solicitations to be exempt from the seizure of their property.
From Diary of a Pedestrian in Cashmere and Thibet by Knight, William Henry
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
Poreda, a handsome, over-confident Pole, came out en- thusiastically for the first round.
From Time Magazine Archive
Also: "Idea wins spontaneous en- dorsement of clergy."
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
The notion of diminution, if indeed that be the notion originally conveyed, lies not in the -en, but in the vowel.
From A Handbook of the English Language by Latham, R. G. (Robert Gordon)
Robert of Brunne, in his “Handlyng Synne,” often employs it instead of -en, but only for the sake of the rhyme.
From Early English Alliterative Poems in the West-Midland Dialect of the Fourteenth Century by Morris, Richard
Infinitive Mood.—The -en of the infinitive is frequently dropped, without even a final -e to mark its omission.
From Early English Alliterative Poems in the West-Midland Dialect of the Fourteenth Century by Morris, Richard
The gerundial termination -enne, superseded by the infinitive termination -en; as to lufian for to lufienne, or lufigenne.
From A Handbook of the English Language by Latham, R. G. (Robert Gordon)
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.
