engross
Americanverb (used with object)
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engrosses,
present (3rd person singular)
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engrossed,
past participle, past
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engrossing
present participle
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to occupy completely, as the mind or attention; absorb.
Their discussion engrossed his attention.
She is engrossed in her work.
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to write or copy in a clear, attractive, large script or in a formal manner, as a public document or record.
to engross a deed.
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to acquire the whole of (a commodity), in order to control the market; monopolize.
verb
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to occupy one's attention completely; absorb
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to write or copy (manuscript) in large legible handwriting
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law to write or type out formally (a deed, agreement, or other document) preparatory to execution
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another word for corner
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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engrosssimple
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engrossessimple
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have engrossedperfect
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has engrossedperfect
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am engrossingprogressive
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are engrossingprogressive
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is engrossingprogressive
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have been engrossingperfect progressive
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has been engrossingperfect progressive
Past
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engrossedsimple
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had engrossedperfect
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was engrossingprogressive
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were engrossingprogressive
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had been engrossingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of engross
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English engros(s)en “to gather in large quantities, draft (a will, etc.) in final form,” from Anglo-French engrosser, partly from Medieval Latin ingrossāre “to thicken, write large and thick” ( Latin in- in- 2 + gross(us) “thick” + -āre infinitive suffix); partly from Anglo-French, Middle French en gros “in quantity, wholesale,” from Latin in + grossus; see gross
Explanation
Engross is a verb that means to consume all of your attention or time. Once you engross yourself in the culture of high salaries and unlimited spending accounts, it's hard to go back to cooking at a sandwich shop. Engross first came into English in the 1400s from the Old French word en gros, meaning "in bulk, at wholesale." By the 1700s the word had taken on the meaning of "absorb the whole attention." Immersing yourself fully in something can be good or bad. If you're studying Shakespeare, you want the plays to engross you so you don't lose focus. But if your video games engross you so much that you forget to shower or eat, that's a problem.
Vocabulary lists containing engross
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 4
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ACT Vocabulary List
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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:
The goal is to engross fans in the world of their favorite stories, a bet Disney hopes will keep audiences engaged when there is more competition than ever for their attention.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
This discovery of Orage’s significance in Katherine Mansfield’s life and work matters to scholars, but Ms. Kimber misjudges how much it might engross readers of a biography.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
Whatever their inspirations, Neuman’s pictures are visual machines that both engross and propel the viewer’s eye.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 29, 2022
Narratives of injury engross us because they point to tangible harms — blindings and burns and broken bones.
From New York Times ● Apr. 21, 2022
She looks up and smiles into my lens and then pretends to engross herself in her work.
From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed
It engrosses two floors of the Breuer with art of total mastery that also, at every turn, casts doubt on its own achievement.
From New York Times ● Mar. 5, 2020
But the nuclear family more urgently tugging on Caroline’s apron and heart strings — her children and friends — is the one that on this occasion engrosses an audience most satisfyingly.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 5, 2017
It engrosses, it stuns, it distracts, and it overwhelms.
From The New Yorker ● May 18, 2015
And as a movie, A.I. engrosses without quite enthralling.
From Time Magazine Archive
Do you not see how entirely she engrosses the attention of an important personage?
From The Lamplighter by Maria S. Cummins
For a time, Djokovic was cast as the villain - the disruptor to the Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal rivalry that so engrossed fans.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
It was a day the 15,000 home fans on Centre Court, thousands more on Henman Hill - sorry, Arthur's Seat - and those engrossed across the country will never forget.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
Receiving Chiarella’s “Leviticus” script while in Sydney on a bus to Bondi Beach, he became so engrossed in reading it he promptly missed his stop.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
Congress ordered broadsides to be made and an engrossed parchment of the signed document to be produced, but the latter became one among many official papers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
It took me a moment to realise, so that by the time I turned back to her she was breathing over her fingers and looking down, engrossed by something beside her feet.
From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro
Books from Mac Barnett and Katherine Rundell argue for the value of imaginative, engrossing tales that can engage readers young and old alike.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
It was a match so engrossing it delayed the BBC News at 10.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
And even those unfamiliar with the tale — the vast majority of attendees, in all likelihood — should find it engrossing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
That engrossing yourself in every meticulous step — from measuring out your own leavening agents to bringing your butter and eggs to room temperature — is what qualifies as real baking.
From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2026
She is less ready to talk about the second wife, the new, engrossing family, stepbrothers and sisters the age of her own little one.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
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.
