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:
About half of Medicare beneficiaries, and most of those with lower incomes, enroll in Advantage plans because they provide comprehensive coverage at lower cost than fee-for-service.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 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
"Straight A's in Flushing's gifted program? You'll do just fine here, young lady. I'll enroll you in Advanced Placement for math, English, French, and physics."
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
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
So she could have some "social interactions", he enrolled her in a Quranic school, "because staying at home all the time is stressful."
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Their analysis included 17,088 people enrolled in a UK Biobank study between 2013 and 2015.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026
He shared his interest in performing with his parents, who enrolled him with acting coach Frank Parillo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Meanwhile, Grandma enrolled our family in counseling to get us through the transition and bring us together.
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
Last year about 27% of admitted international students ended up enrolling, compared with about 42% of admitted Californians.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 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
Y Combinator runs four cohorts a year, with recent cohorts enrolling about 200 companies each, meaning OpenAI and Anthropic could offer up to $800 million in combined AI credits in the next year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 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
Uprooting the girls on short order and enrolling them in new schools would be trying for all of them.
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.
