Jump To:

• 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.

---

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.

---

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 ).

---

en- ⁴ American  

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

   energy; enthusiasm.

---

-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 ).

---

-en ⁶ American  

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

   ashen; golden; oaken.

---

-en ⁷ American  

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

   taken; proven.

---

-en ⁸ American  

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

   brethren; children; oxen.

---

-en ⁹ American  

1. a diminutive suffix.

   kitten; maiden.

---

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

---

EN ² British  

abbreviation

1. enrolled nurse

2. English Nature

---

-en ³ British  

suffix

1. cause to be; become; cause to have

   blacken

   heighten

---

-en ⁴ British  

suffix

1. of; made of; resembling

   ashen

   earthen

   wooden

---

en- ⁵ British  

prefix

1. in; into; inside

   endemic

---

en ⁶ British  

/ ɛn /

noun

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

---

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

As the flydubai Boeing 737 flew over northwestern Saudi Arabia en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv, the co-pilot suddenly attacked his captain, according to Israeli officials.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

The primary suite serves as its own private retreat and features an en suite bathroom with a soaking tub, double sinks, and a full-body spray shower.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

The Dodgers lost just five of 16 postseason games at home — a .688 winning percentage — en route to World Series titles the last two years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

"People are going to know the direction I want to take this country and I will set it down quite clearly," he told reporters en route to the UN General Assembly in New York.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

Bayona wasn’t sure why the government wasn’t being more cooperative with Socios en Salud, but he quickly learned to read patient files upside down.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

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

Newspapers, particularly pictorial ones, have, it would appear, a remarkable facility for being lost EN ROUTE.

From A Lady's Visit to the Gold Diggings of Australia in 1852-53 by Ellen Clacy

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

Mr. Flint was asked why a man like himself, "after he has amassed millions, goes on increasing his collection instead of retiring and en- joying life."

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

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 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

From 1803 to 1808, all converts were drawn from twelve places having recognizable names, ending in -an, -en, -in, or -un, characteristic Costanoan word endings.

From The Aboriginal Population of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California by Sherburne Friend Cook

To apply an expression of Mr. Cobbet's, en = a, and -en = the, are the same combination of letters, but not the same word.

From A Handbook of the English Language by R. G. (Robert Gordon) Latham

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