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
So he decides to set aside his disdain for institutional learning, left: over from his days at theology school in Amsterdam, and enroll in a painting class at an art academy.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
Those percentages add up to about 6,600 transgender or nonbinary students enrolled out of a total of 301,000.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
More than 11,000 people in the U.S. turn 65 every day, and more than 70.5 million are enrolled in Medicare, according to the latest administrative data from CMS.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
For the new study, the researchers examined data from more than 154,000 young adults enrolled in the UK Biobank, which contains extensive biological, health, and lifestyle information.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
Researchers will debate the full data at the American Heart Association meeting in November, including whether the dose was high enough and whether the trial enrolled the right patients.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
Harry might be an established member of MAVS, but she wasn’t tribally enrolled, and her grandfather had been her only connection to the culture before he died.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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
They then woo the young people into enrolling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Field trips to the museum begin Sept. 18, though the Broad is still enrolling schools in the program.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
A 2022 study found that enrolling in a Medicare Advantage plan didn’t lead to improvements in older adults with diabetes.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 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.
