engulf
Americanverb
-
to immerse, plunge, bury, or swallow up
-
(often passive) to overwhelm
engulfed by debts
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of engulf
Explanation
Engulf is a verb that means being completely surrounded, soaked, or covered. Fire, snow, smoke, flood waters, or even violence are a few things that could engulf you. Suppose an amusement park had a ride called Into the Whirlpool. Sounds like one for thrill-seekers who aren't afraid of water. Riders should expect to get lost inside, fully absorbed by the experience. The word engulf comes from the Old French word golfe, meaning "whirlpool," and the prefix en-, meaning "in or into." Riders of Into the Whirlpool should expect to feel engulfed — surrounded by water and completely covered.
Vocabulary lists containing engulf
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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"A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury
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Divergent
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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.
Later, explaining to his mom why he doesn’t have any friends his own age, Valdi purses his lips in a mimicry of the older men who would engulf him — a touchingly sad little detail.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026
When fires broke out, flames could engulf an entire train car, forcing Woods to act quickly to contain the blaze with buckets of water and shovelfuls of sand.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026
Winter Storm Fern is forecast to engulf an area stretching from Texas and the Great Plains region to the mid-Atlantic and northeastern states.
From Barron's • Jan. 21, 2026
Unlike some immune cells, macrophages can directly engulf and destroy cancer cells.
From Science Daily • Jan. 11, 2026
Despair, ready to engulf him should he falter.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
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.
