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• en
  en

  noun

  the letter N, n.
• EN
  EN

  abbreviation

  endangered.
• 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
  -en

  a 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

1. the letter N, n.

2. Also called nut.  Printing. half of the width of an em.

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adjective

1. Printing. having the area of an en quad or the length of an en.

   en quad; en dash.

EN ² American  

abbreviation

Biology, Ecology.

1. endangered.

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en- ³ American  

1. 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- ⁴ American  

1. a prefix meaning “within, in,” occurring in loanwords from Greek.

   energy; enthusiasm.

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-en ⁵ American  

1. a suffix formerly used to form transitive and intransitive verbs from adjectives (fasten; harden; sweeten ), or from nouns (heighten; lengthen; strengthen ).

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-en ⁶ American  

1. a suffix used to form adjectives of source or material from nouns.

   ashen; golden; oaken.

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-en ⁷ American  

1. a suffix used to mark the past participle in many strong and some weak verbs.

   taken; proven.

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-en ⁸ American  

1. a suffix used in forming the plural of some nouns.

   brethren; children; oxen.

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-en ⁹ American  

1. a diminutive suffix.

   kitten; maiden.

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en- ¹ British  

prefix

1. (from nouns)

   1. put in or on

      entomb

      enthrone

   2. go on or into

      enplane

   3. surround or cover with

      enmesh

   4. furnish with

      empower

2. (from adjectives and nouns) cause to be in a certain condition

   enable

   encourage

   enrich

   enslave

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EN ² British  

abbreviation

1. enrolled nurse

2. English Nature

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-en ³ British  

suffix

1. cause to be; become; cause to have

   blacken

   heighten

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-en ⁴ British  

suffix

1. of; made of; resembling

   ashen

   earthen

   wooden

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en- ⁵ British  

prefix

1. in; into; inside

   endemic

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en ⁶ British  

/ ɛn /

noun

1. Also called: nut.  printing a unit of measurement, half the width of an em See also ennage

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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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

en EN en- -en

I was imagining what it would be like to be her, so perfectly balanced en pointe, the embodiment of feminine beauty and grace.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

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 concrete-clad primary suite features an en suite bathroom with an oversized penny-tile tub and circular windows.

From MarketWatch ● 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

If my goal is to pull the files for the remaining boys whose families we haven’t visited there’s no way for me to do so en masse.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

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

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

A few days before the set time John received an urgent summons to Melbourne, and went on ahead, leaving Mahony suspecting him of a dodge to avoid travelling EN FAMILLE.

From Australia Felix by Henry Handel Richardson

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

Also: "Idea wins spontaneous en- dorsement of clergy."

From Time Magazine Archive

Ten years ago, he en- deavored to explain telepathic phenomena as being due to a sixth sense, a view in which Mrs. Sedgwick concurred.

From Time Magazine Archive

The forms en- and em- are of French origin.

From New Word-Analysis by William Swinton

All three have names that end in -en, which may or may not be relevant.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 13, 2021

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 R. G. (Robert Gordon) Latham

But the terminations which are used in the most confused manner of all are -en, -yne, and -ing or -yng.

From Lancelot of the Laik A Scottish Metrical Romance by Walter W. (Walter William) Skeat

And similarly the endings -ōno, -ōm and the endings of the other oblique forms were all weakened to -en in MHG.

From A Middle High German Primer Third Edition by Joseph Wright

The participle passive or perfect of regular verbs terminates in -ed; of irregular verbs in -en.

From Early English Alliterative Poems in the West-Midland Dialect of the Fourteenth Century by Richard Morris