enlist
Americanverb (used without object)
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enlists,
present (3rd person singular)
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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
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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
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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:
This included BTS members, who were at the height of their fame in 2022 when they started taking career breaks to enlist in the military.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
It would allow parties to enlist the help of wealthy donors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
Ideally, an aging parent will enlist an estate-planning attorney to set up a marital trust and appoint a reliable trustee to carry out their wishes.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
Today, he strains to explain his decision to enlist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
I thanked him reverently—but he continued, “We are already proud that, at all adventure, you chose to enlist at our sides.”
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
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
This is important because the government enlists businesses during war and peacetime for assistance, including with immigration enforcement, cyber-security and critical mineral mining.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
Ukraine also enlists foreign combatants but does so overtly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026
Kitty has a lot of baggage, including the area’s most famous criminal for a father, but Beth, who enlists her for the band, will help her unload it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2026
He enlists the aid of the sacred ota stone, as well as the shrunken head of a doll, a ball of powdered eggshell, and the eggun, a vertebra from the spine of a goat.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
The organization has tripled sign-on bonuses to $6,000 and enlisted employment agencies that charge a premium to provide personnel, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
While Kim grew closer to Kremlin-linked businessmen, her newly estranged husband, Bakalchuk, enlisted the support of Ramzan Kadyrov, a former warlord and current head of Chechnya who intervenes in business disputes in return for cash.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
To play the wily Kanbei, Kurosawa enlisted his young “Cloud” star Suda, whom he calls a genius.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
Beyer Blinder Belle, lead developer on the building's exterior, enlisted a speciality manufacturer in California to replicate and restore thousands of terra-cotta pieces from the facade, reinstalling each by hand.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
He talks about being treated poorly overseas, despite the fact that he enlisted to prove he cared about his country.
From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone
The exercise -- enlisting 18,000 South Korean troops and counterparts from US forces in the country -- will have a heightened focus on drone warfare, GPS disruption and the role of cyber attacks, he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 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
Several Manhattan private-school parents said another key to getting extra time—and unlimited bathroom breaks—is enlisting a gastroenterologist to diagnose inflammatory bowel disease or irritable bowel syndrome.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
But when Imagine Dragons "just blew up" while they were at university, Dan, a fan of "Starcraft" and "League of Legends", went with the flow, enlisting Mac along the way as manager.
From Barron's ● Apr. 12, 2026
Initial panic gave way to calm decision and, enlisting the aid of three attendants, a careful search was begun.
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
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.
