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
List 7
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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:
It is unclear what the disciplinary procedures against Foucher entail or how long they will last.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
To that end, Meta is doling out more money to local communities near its data centers, though Zuckerberg’s essay didn’t specify what that would entail.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Reforming the historic structure of multimember agencies will entail trade-offs but is worth considering as this new landscape takes shape.
From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2026
When the trade unwinds, it will entail the opposite of what’s been happening — the selling of individual-stock volatility and the buying of index volatility, and a likely sharp rise in correlations.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 3, 2026
In Virginia, however, laws abolishing primogeniture and entail had been passed during the Revolution.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Another ruse is called ghost booking, which entails an employee booking conference rooms or workstations online to suggest they are in the office.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
That investigation also entails examining the work of several individual firms involved in construction, including MetroLoft, Gace and Domani, according to a person familiar with the matter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
They had grandparents for the kids to stay with, so they did not go—as tens of thousands do each year—into state custody, with the many attendant traumas that entails.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
The economists said that in their base case, a strong event entails losses of between $3 trillion and $5 trillion across five years, or about 2.7% to 3.2% of global gross domestic product.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026
It entails looking at neurochemicals triggered when people play video games or use the Internet.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
On Friday, the court's judges said the 2024 drone operation "entailed the use of South Korea's military capabilities for private purposes".
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
In the model, the “availability” phase entailed contact and small-scale movements across the frontier, with trading relationships and marriage alliances, for example, forming gradually.
From Science Daily ● May 30, 2026
Those who remember Wishbone and his many adventures can now dive into the incredible behind-the-scenes feat that producing the show entailed in the new comprehensive documentary “What’s the Story, Wishbone?” from director Joey Stewart.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
The Baltic country spends 5% of its GDP on national defence, Silina noted, which she said entailed a "much higher level of responsibility toward society... that requires clear results".
From BBC ● May 14, 2026
On the other hand, Newcomen, unlike Savery, had to construct a moving piston, with all the difficulties of potential friction and leaking that entailed.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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
He noted that the Machinists’ work, physically tiring and often entailing exposure to toxic chemicals, takes a toll.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 6, 2023
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
Sardinia has restaurants all over the island referred to as "agriturismo," which is where local farms offer up a dining experience typically entailing a set menu consisting of only ingredients from the property.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2023
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
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.
