entail
Americanverb (used with object)
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entails,
present (3rd person singular)
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entailed,
past participle, past
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entailing
present participle
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to cause or involve by necessity or as a consequence.
a loss entailing no regret.
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to impose as a burden.
Success entails hard work.
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Law. to limit the passage of (real estate) to a specified line of heirs, so that it cannot be transferred or bequeathed to anyone else.
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Law. to cause (anything) to descend to a fixed series of possessors.
noun
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the act of entailing.
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Law. the state of being entailed.
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any predetermined order of succession, as to an office.
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Law. something that is entailed, as an estate.
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Law. the rule of descent settled for an estate.
verb
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to bring about or impose by necessity; have as a necessary consequence
this task entails careful thought
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property law to restrict (the descent of an estate) to a designated line of heirs
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logic to have as a necessary consequence
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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entailsimple
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entailssimple
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have entailedperfect
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has entailedperfect
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am entailingprogressive
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are entailingprogressive
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is entailingprogressive
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have been entailingperfect progressive
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has been entailingperfect progressive
Past
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entailedsimple
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had entailedperfect
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was entailingprogressive
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were entailingprogressive
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had been entailingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of entail
First recorded in 1350–1400; from Middle English entailen (verb), entail (noun), equivalent to en- 1 + tail 2 ( def. )
Explanation
To entail is to involve. A job at a movie theater might entail sweeping popcorn off the floor, probably because watching a movie entails eating popcorn in the dark. It’s a small price to pay! The word entail, which comes from Latin, is connected to the idea of preconditions. If you want something, you better figure out what it entails. If it’s only 8 o’clock and you want to see a movie at 9, that will entail waiting for an hour. If you want to stay out of trouble, that will entail calling your parents and letting them know you're going to be late. That’s what being responsible entails!
Vocabulary lists containing entail
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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:
What those repairs will entail, exactly, appears yet to be determined, as the agency reviews surveys and drone footage “to determine the most effective path forward,” Smith said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
This initiative would entail mutual reinforcement of the idea of America.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
In a newsy weekend on the AI front, CEO Sam Altman said OpenAI won’t target an initial public offering this year and noted that making AI safer will entail “significant costs.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has promised "the biggest council house building programme since the post-war period" - although he has not provided details on exactly what this will entail.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Otherwise, it would be a merciless and, indeed, a heinous action, as it would entail ruining a reputation and misleading a community.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
The main difference, in his opinion, was that Swiss wrestling entails maintaining a constant grip on one's opponent, whereas there is more distance between wrestlers in Senegal.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
That entails simultaneously buying a put option with a higher strike price and selling a put with a lower strike that’s “out of the money” – both with the same expiry.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
Jones, who is also in the middle of a comedy tour, shared what her Sunday Funday in L.A. entails.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
“Restricting exports is indeed a lever China can pull anytime, but it still entails economic costs,” said Tom Reed, head of oil market analysis at Argus Media, a price reporting agency.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
I have chosen this course which is more difficult and which entails more risk and hardship than sitting in gaol.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s armed forces had received appropriate orders, although he did not specify what those instructions entailed.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
The trips entailed hotel stays because he couldn’t manage the round-trip drive in a day.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
Both jobs entailed tedious rewrite work that would have fit into Mr. Posner’s capacious definition of plagiarism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Nobody scored more than 23 goals in the four seasons between 2018-19 and 2021-22, but the past four Golden Boots have all entailed between 27 and 36 goals.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
My new position entailed sharing the lessons of the Freedom Writers with future teachers.
From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers
In recent years, a couple of local districts have rolled out pilot programs entailing the release of sterile male mosquitoes to drive the population down, a relatively new approach to tackling these mosquitoes.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2025
So, the fuel needs a larger percentage of this isotope, entailing higher uranium-235 enrichment than the 4 percent enriched LEU typically used in nuclear power plants.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 20, 2023
Often presenting well after the initial infection, post-acute infection syndrome manifests as a complex and variable disorder, typically entailing severe fatigue, gastrointestinal issues, confused sensory perception, and neurocognitive abnormalities.
From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2023
Like other shareholders, Italy will see the value of its stake wiped out, entailing a 5.4 billion euro loss.
From Reuters ● Oct. 11, 2022
There are videos about the importance and difference of treble and bass clefs; there is a list of music terms and what they mean, and the site even contains videos entailing the transposition of music.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
