enrich
Americanverb (used with object)
-
enriches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
enriched,
past participle, past
-
enriching
present participle
-
to supply with riches, wealth, abundant or valuable possessions, etc..
Commerce enriches a nation.
-
to supply with abundance of anything desirable.
to enrich the mind with knowledge.
-
to add greater value or significance to.
Art enriches life.
-
to adorn or decorate.
a picture frame enriched with gold.
-
to make finer in quality, as by supplying desirable elements or ingredients.
to enrich soil.
-
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.
-
Nutrition.
-
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.
-
to add vitamins and minerals to (food) to enhance its nutritive value.
-
verb
-
to increase the wealth of
-
to endow with fine or desirable qualities
to enrich one's experience by travelling
-
to make more beautiful; adorn; decorate
a robe enriched with jewels
-
to improve in quality, colour, flavour, etc
-
to increase the food value of by adding nutrients
to enrich dog biscuits with calcium
-
to make (soil) more productive, esp by adding fertilizer
-
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
-
enrichernoun
-
enrichmentnoun
-
enrichedadjective
-
self-enrichingadjective
-
unenrichingadjective
-
enrichinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
enrichsimple
-
enrichessimple
-
have enrichedperfect
-
has enrichedperfect
-
am enrichingprogressive
-
are enrichingprogressive
-
is enrichingprogressive
-
have been enrichingperfect progressive
-
has been enrichingperfect progressive
Past
-
enrichedsimple
-
had enrichedperfect
-
was enrichingprogressive
-
were enrichingprogressive
-
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)
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
List 1
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Obama's State of the Union Address, 2014
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Playwrights from Shakespeare to Sondheim to Manuel-Miranda, meanwhile, write around human emotion and almost weaponize relatability to enrich the audience’s theater experience.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
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
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
I argued that a year of classics could only bolster and enrich this now highly desirable course of study in English Literature.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
The researchers also created a genome-wide hybridization panel that enriches the remaining sample for methylated DNA from solid organs, including organs that may be affected by disease.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 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
"You know, the main thing is just that music enriches your existence," he muses.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 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
Appreciating art is a gradual, never-ending endeavor, which is why art from all eras still engages and enriches us.
From "The Annotated Mona Lisa" by Carol Strickland and John Boswell
Newly enriched Americans are bound to spend some of their windfall on new cars, yachts, houses and the like.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
Silicon Valley enriched itself with promises that the cyber revolution would mean more freedom and democracy by enabling the flow of information and communication.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Centrifuges are needed to produce enriched uranium, which can be used to make reactor fuel for civilian use but also for nuclear weapons if enriched to around 90% purity or higher.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Scientists have debated for years why these regions become so enriched.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
“Janna, I love you. Thanks for being my study pal. We’ll meet up in the summer. And I’m sure I’ll see you in enriched math in the fall.”
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
In other words, he seems to think that if the facility is enriching uranium at all, it is by definition military—i.e., its purpose is to build nuclear weapons.
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026
Everyone knows it isn’t cheaper to begin enriching over there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
“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
Those explosions scattered newly created heavy elements throughout the cluster, enriching the gas that later gave birth to another generation of stars.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026
Edinburgh at that time was a center of intellectual vigor, and Hutton luxuriated in its enriching possibilities.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
