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:
That gap is why regulators have required a follow-up study, which Moderna said will enroll up to 800,000 people over two flu seasons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
If you have delayed claiming while working, you will generally need to enroll yourself when your employer coverage ends to avoid late-enrollment penalties.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Once that cap is reached, no additional drivers will be able to enroll, according to state officials.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
The Turners were ordered by a Los Angeles County judge to enroll their children in a conventional school on grounds that the parents did not have adequate teaching credentials.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
“When I saw your book, I thought you were coming to enroll for school. But you don’t live in these parts, you say.”
From "Sounder" by William H. Armstrong
Its participants had previously been enrolled in the SAHS.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
And California law does allow parents to skip immunizations for children who are enrolled in independent study programs and do not receive classroom-based instruction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
We enrolled in Affordable Care Act insurance beginning March 1.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
According to the Department of Economy, more than 2,100 students were enrolled on an HLA course in an FE College in Northern Ireland in 2024/25.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Craig, meanwhile, had enrolled at Princeton University, vacating his back-porch room on Euclid Avenue, leaving a six-foot-six, two-hundred-pound gap in our daily lives.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Seniors also have the choice of enrolling in private federally subsidized Medicare Advantage insurance plans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
And joining them this week at practice, after just enrolling this summer, is a freshman wideout who some believe will be the best of the bunch, top-60 recruit Boobie Feaster.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
After his funeral she applied to get her GCSEs before enrolling on a nursing course, and then her nursing university degree.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
The student body has been getting younger, with "a lot more students from the high schools" enrolling at Apex Technical School, said Zelda Cuesta, agency coordinator.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
Mary followed the family tradition of enrolling in Hampton Institute, which had graduated her father, Frank Winston, her mother, Ella Scott Winston, and several of her ten older siblings.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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.
