enlist
Americanverb (used without object)
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enlists,
present (3rd person singular)
-
enlisted,
past participle, past
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enlisting
present participle
verb (used with object)
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enlists,
present (3rd person singular)
-
enlisted,
past participle, past
-
enlisting
present participle
-
to engage for military service.
to enlist men for the army.
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to secure (a person, services, etc.) for some cause, enterprise, etc..
They enlisted us to serve as ushers at the meeting.
verb
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to enter or persuade to enter into an engagement to serve in the armed forces
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(tr) to engage or secure (a person, his services, or his support) for a venture, cause, etc
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to enter into or join an enterprise, cause, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
enlistsimple
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enlistssimple
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have enlistedperfect
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has enlistedperfect
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am enlistingprogressive
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are enlistingprogressive
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is enlistingprogressive
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have been enlistingperfect progressive
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has been enlistingperfect progressive
Past
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enlistedsimple
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had enlistedperfect
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was enlistingprogressive
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were enlistingprogressive
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had been enlistingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of enlist
Explanation
To enlist is to voluntarily join the military. You may have seen television commercials or posters encouraging people to enlist. There are various ways people end up in the military. Sometimes there's a draft, which selects people whether they want to go or not. Sometimes people enlist, which means they sign up on their own. Enlisting also refers to recruiting or hiring people for some purpose or organization. If you are moving, you might try to enlist your friends to help — good luck with that.
Vocabulary lists containing enlist
Veterans Day Vocabulary
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Memorial Day: Words of Respect and Remembrance
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Code Talker
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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.
See Examples For:
To make up for this, Gray’s team tried to enlist several leading academic historians to instill more of an overarching narrative structure.
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026
Pentagon officials are working to enlist other manufacturers, including automakers and their suppliers, to team with weapons makers to replenish military supplies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
"As is well known, our people enlist voluntarily and sign a contract," he said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
If you enlist AI for financial advice, you’ll certainly get it.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
“Yes, I feel much better. Were you able to enlist the help of the spiders?”
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
This series sequel enlists Hunter Schafer and Michelle Yeoh to play rough in this dystopia, with Schafer as Cora, a human Blade Runner who teams with Yeoh’s Olwen, a fading replicant.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026
When Perla rejects Ulises’ practiced advances, he enlists the aid of her put-upon niece, who longs to escape both her demanding aunt and the decaying mansion that entraps her.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
As the Court Poet, baritone Brian Major enlists the Stranger into the storytelling—their eerie duet as the voice of the evil fairy Carabosse is a striking musical moment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
Our protagonist comes from a nondescript family, attends a minor boarding school, falls in love with Oxford, enlists in the British army and is transformed forever by a trip to North Africa.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
I guess he enlists you to play, too.
From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick
The complaint also said Mattie Music Group enlisted the help of musicologist Alexander Stewart to determine “substantial” similarities between the two songs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
Japanese convenience store chain FamilyMart has enlisted Lady Gaga for a recruitment campaign, convincing the pop icon to trade vocal registers for cash registers in an effort to plug staffing shortages at thousands of outlets.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
To test the idea under controlled conditions, Seiler enlisted retired Berkeley chemists David Kreimer and Elena Kreimer, a retired manager of the College of Chemistry's Microanalytical Facility.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
Jason enlisted in the Army a couple of years after the attacks and earned a Green Beret.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Most of the British troops were inexperienced volunteers, men who had enlisted while Britain was raising a new army to fight in France, and who marched to the front singing rousing battle songs.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
Emmanuel Banuelos spent weeks planning the perfect proposal, selecting a picturesque spot at a Laguna Beach park, enlisting his soon-to-be sister-in-law as a videographer and booking a mariachi band to play his girlfriend’s favorite music.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
Recruiters have also targeted foreigners living in Russia without legal status, promising them residency or a passport in exchange for enlisting, Amnesty said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
Proposals such as enlisting Syria, vetting Lebanese troops or relying on Israel alone face steep hurdles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Actually, it’s Stuart from an alternative universe enlisting him to restore things with the help of a malfunctioned quantum interference device created by Sheldon, Leonard and Howard.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
Carlos was always trying to get away with something, or at least he used to be like that before enlisting, but Alex found that rules imposed a structure, and he preferred that.
From "The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer
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.
