enrich
Americanverb (used with object)
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to supply with riches, wealth, abundant or valuable possessions, etc..
Commerce enriches a nation.
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to supply with abundance of anything desirable.
to enrich the mind with knowledge.
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to add greater value or significance to.
Art enriches life.
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to adorn or decorate.
a picture frame enriched with gold.
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to make finer in quality, as by supplying desirable elements or ingredients.
to enrich soil.
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Physics. to increase the proportion of a valuable mineral or isotope in (a substance or material).
The fuel was enriched with uranium 235 for the nuclear reactor.
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Nutrition.
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to restore to (a food) a nutrient that has been lost during an early stage of processing.
to enrich flour with thiamine, iron, niacin, and riboflavin.
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to add vitamins and minerals to (food) to enhance its nutritive value.
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verb
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to increase the wealth of
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to endow with fine or desirable qualities
to enrich one's experience by travelling
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to make more beautiful; adorn; decorate
a robe enriched with jewels
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to improve in quality, colour, flavour, etc
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to increase the food value of by adding nutrients
to enrich dog biscuits with calcium
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to make (soil) more productive, esp by adding fertilizer
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physics to increase the concentration or abundance of one component or isotope in (a solution or mixture); concentrate
to enrich a solution by evaporation
enrich a nuclear fuel
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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enrichernoun
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enrichmentnoun
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enrichedadjective
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self-enrichingadjective
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unenrichingadjective
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enrichinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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enrichsimple
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enrichessimple
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have enrichedperfect
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has enrichedperfect
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am enrichingprogressive
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are enrichingprogressive
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is enrichingprogressive
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have been enrichingperfect progressive
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has been enrichingperfect progressive
Past
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enrichedsimple
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had enrichedperfect
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was enrichingprogressive
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were enrichingprogressive
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had been enrichingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of enrich
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English enrichen, from Old French enrichir; equivalent to en- 1 + rich
Explanation
To enrich something is to make it richer, or to improve the quality of it. You play the lottery because it might enrich your bank account; you play ping-pong to enrich your quality of life. Regardless of the sense it is used in, the key to enrich is the word rich (you can almost think of it as the verb form of the adjective). So to enrich something is to make it rich, richer, or just plain better. Enrich always needs an object: You can’t visit a wax museum just to enrich, but you can go to enrich your life. Verbs that enrich include improve, enhance, cultivate, better, and develop.
Vocabulary lists containing enrich
Lyndon B. Johnson on "The Great Society" (1964)
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List 1
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Obama's State of the Union Address, 2014
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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:
Saudi Arabia rejected the so-called “gold standard,” a commitment never to enrich uranium at home or reprocess the spent fuel from a reactor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
The United States signed a nuclear agreement with the kingdom's neighbor the United Arab Emirates in 2009, although the country does not enrich its own uranium.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
"Today's sentence shows that fame and wealth do not place you above the law, and that fraudsters who victimise families to enrich themselves will be met with significant consequences," Buckley said.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
Rather than simply reusing existing wax, queen cell builders actively collect, modify, and enrich materials used in royal chambers.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026
Instead, the prince must establish rewards for those who wish to do these things, and for anyone who seeks in any way to enrich his city or state.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
Karen Rodriguez, who plays loyal secretary Janet, feels the black and white presentation "enriches the storytelling".
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
"We believe it's only fair that large digital platforms contribute to the hard work that enriches their feeds and that drives their revenue."
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
In nonfiction, a soulful look at how we interact with the natural world leads to an equally soulful look at why the American West’s human diversity enriches us all.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2026
Actually, no — it’s just the latest in a long line of inventions, one that enriches workers and improves daily life.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 1, 2026
Pedagogically Sound: Including multiple perspectives and views on material not only enriches the curriculum content, but also provides radically different frameworks and paradigms to students on content.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
Scientists have debated for years why these regions become so enriched.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
“Washington’s clearest nonproliferation wins against Iran in the war were stopping all uranium enrichment at declared facilities and entombing enriched uranium stockpiles,” said Behnam Ben Taleblu, of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
By common understanding, uranium must be enriched to a level of 20 percent purity to be deemed “highly enriched” and 90 percent to be “weapons-grade.”
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026
There are a few other critical points: The extent of monitoring, what happens to the nuclear facilities, and what happens to that highly enriched uranium.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
In connection with the new arrangement, Lawrence received approval for his expanded Alpha II plant, which would supplement the feed from the diffusion process in a final push to produce uranium enriched to weapon-grade.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
“International students and scholars bring unique perspectives to our classrooms and research teams, enriching the learning environment and helping us find more creative and effective solutions to the world’s problems,” said Stanford spokesperson Angie Davis.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
That finding suggests that planetary engulfment may not be the only process capable of enriching a star with lithium, creating another question for astronomers to investigate.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 16, 2026
External link At other times, he said, other countries can enrich, so why can we keep them from enriching?
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
U.S. officials have said they believe Iran isn’t currently enriching uranium, which is a critical component of a civilian and nuclear-weapons program.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
“Won’t it be enriching to absorb the work of such masters, and there are so many there to be seen.”
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
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.
