enroll
Americanverb (used with object)
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to write the name of (a person) in a roll or register; place upon a list; register.
It took two days to enroll the new students.
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to enlist (oneself ).
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to put in a record; record.
to enroll the minutes of a meeting; to enroll the great events of history.
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to roll or wrap up.
fruit enrolled in tissue paper.
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Nautical. to document (a U.S. vessel) by issuing a certificate of enrollment.
verb (used without object)
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of enroll
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English enrollen, from Old French enroller. See en- 1, roll
Explanation
If you like clowning around but you're not quite ready for the circus, you could enroll in clown college to perfect your skills. When you enroll, that means you formally add your name to the list — or roll — of students. You can enroll in things other than schools or classes, and you can also enroll someone else. You might enroll your Chihuahua in a research project investigating whether dogs like to wear hats, or you could enroll your rude nephew in charm school. The "roll" of enroll goes back to the rolls of parchment that were used in medieval times for writing official documents.
Vocabulary lists containing enroll
The Circuit
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Education and Academics, List 1
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"An Early Start on College"
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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:
In California, that would mean election officials would have to enroll 23 million voters with new bar codes before state ballots could be mailed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
If you enroll between Dec. 16 and Jan. 15, coverage starts Feb. 1.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 12, 2026
A relative suggested they move to South Florida and enroll their children in the Jewish day school Mrs. Kashani’s nieces and nephews attended.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
In September 2025, Amazon agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle allegations that it used deceptive practices to enroll consumers in Amazon Prime and made it difficult to cancel subscriptions.
From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026
Neel would either join Ajay or travel all the way to Kolkata to enroll in St. James SecondaryBoarding School—if he won the scholarship, that is.
From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins
In the former Eden Council area, only 64% of those eligible were enrolled and in the former Copeland Council area, take-up was 68%.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
The lawsuit also claims the Lynwood Unified School District, where two of Isaiah’s siblings were allegedly enrolled, failed to investigate the fact that Isaiah was not enrolled in school.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
Even toddlers are enrolled in multiple extracurricular activities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Under the program, which launched in January, prior authorizations for about 6.4 million Americans enrolled in traditional Medicare in New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona and Washington state are being carried out by AI.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
When he enrolled at the University of Iowa, he felt liberated from the small-town ways of Muscatine, but not liberated enough.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
So the Prides chose that one, moving to Silver Spring, Md., and enrolling their son in top educational programs for deaf children.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
That means enrolling ever more patients and waiting longer to catch enough cardiovascular “events” to show statistical benefit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
“And then this year being like, there’s not enough students enrolling: ‘Oh no.’”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
After enrolling in what he assumed would be an easy acting class during his senior year of high school, Zucker became obsessed with improv and comedy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
She even induced Winston to mortgage yet another of his evenings by enrolling himself for the part-time munition work which was done voluntarily by zealous Party members.
From "1984" by George Orwell
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.
