enlist

[en-list]

verb (used without object)

1. to enroll, usually voluntarily, for military service.

   He decided to enlist in the Marines.

2. to enter into some cause, enterprise, etc.

   Synonyms: join, volunteer

verb (used with object)

1. to engage for military service.

   to enlist men for the army.

2. to secure (a person, services, etc.) for some cause, enterprise, etc..

   They enlisted us to serve as ushers at the meeting.

enlist

/ ɪnˈlɪst /

verb

1. to enter or persuade to enter into an engagement to serve in the armed forces

2. (tr) to engage or secure (a person, his services, or his support) for a venture, cause, etc

3. to enter into or join an enterprise, cause, etc

Other Word Forms

• enlister noun
• preenlist verb
• unenlisted adjective
• enlistment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of enlist¹

First recorded in 1690–1700; en- ¹ + list ¹

Example Sentences

The court heard Gill mainly enlisted MEPs from the UK but also some from Germany and France.

Read more on BBC

But she found a job as a typist at Radio Tokyo, which enlisted POWs in its propaganda division and recruited her in late 1943 as a disc jockey.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Brian may enlist in the military; his cousin would like to learn a trade, maybe welding or work in construction.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

They enlisted language experts to interpret old anatomical works written in French, Italian and Latin, sometimes in a perplexing blend of several languages.

Read more on Science Daily

Now, suddenly, he was handed a microphone and enlisted as a simultaneous translator for Karel Lamač’s uproarious Jazz Age comedy about a proper Viennese girl who goes wild as a flapper.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• admit 
• appoint 
• assign 
• attract 
• call up 
• conscript 
• employ 
• engage 
• enroll 
• enter 
• gather 
• hire 
• join 
• mobilize 
• recruit 
• serve 
• volunteer