enter
verb (used without object)
to come or go in.
enter
1 American
[en-ter]
/ ˈɛn tər /
verb (used without object)
-
enters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
entered,
past participle, past
-
entering
present participle
-
to come or go in.
Knock before you enter.
- Antonyms:
- leave
-
to be admitted into a school, competition, etc..
Some contestants enter as late as a day before the race.
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to make a beginning (often followed by on orupon ).
We have entered upon a new phase in history.
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Theater. to come upon the stage (used in stage directions as the 3rd person imperative singular or plural).
Enter Othello, and Iago at a distance.
verb (used with object)
-
enters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
entered,
past participle, past
-
entering
present participle
-
to come or go into.
He just entered the building. The thought never entered my mind.
-
to penetrate or pierce.
The bullet entered the flesh.
-
to put in or insert.
- Antonyms:
- remove
-
to become a member of; join.
to enter a club.
-
to cause to be admitted, as into a school, competition, etc..
to enter a horse in a race.
-
to make a beginning of or in, or begin upon; engage or become involved in.
He entered the medical profession.
-
to share in; have an intuitive understanding of.
In order to appreciate the novel, one must be able to enter the spirit of the work.
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to make a record of; record or register.
to enter a new word in a dictionary.
-
Law.
-
Computers. to put (a document, program, data, etc.) into a computer system.
Enter your new document into the word-processing system.
-
to put forward, submit, or register formally.
to enter an objection to a proposed action; to enter a bid for a contract.
-
to report (a ship, cargo, etc.) at the custom house.
verb phrase
enter-
2
American
enter
British
/ ˈɛntə /
verb
-
to come or go into (a place, house, etc)
-
to penetrate or pierce
-
(tr) to introduce or insert
-
to join (a party, organization, etc)
-
to become involved or take part (in)
to enter a game
to enter into an agreement
-
(tr) to record (an item such as a commercial transaction) in a journal, account, register, etc
-
(tr) to record (a name, etc) on a list
-
(tr) to present or submit
to enter a proposal
-
(intr) theatre to come on stage: used as a stage direction
enter Juliet
-
to begin; start
to enter upon a new career
-
to come into possession (of)
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(tr) to place (evidence, a plea, etc) before a court of law or upon the court records
-
(tr) law
-
to go onto and occupy (land)
-
to file a claim to (public lands)
-
Usage
What does enter- mean? Enter- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “intestine.” The intestines are the long tract of the digestive system that runs from the stomach to the anus. Enter- is often used in medical terms, especially in anatomy and pathology. Enter- comes from the Greek énteron, meaning “intestine.” A scientific term for the digestive tract (alimentary canal) is enteron, which comes from this same Greek root. The word dysentery, literally meaning “bad bowels,” also derives from the Greek énteron. Enter- is a variant of entero-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use entero- article.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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enterernoun
-
preenterverb (used without object)
-
enterableadjective
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unenterableadjective
-
unenteredadjective
-
well-enteredadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
entersimple
-
enterssimple
-
have enteredperfect
-
has enteredperfect
-
am enteringprogressive
-
are enteringprogressive
-
is enteringprogressive
-
have been enteringperfect progressive
-
has been enteringperfect progressive
Past
-
enteredsimple
-
had enteredperfect
-
was enteringprogressive
-
were enteringprogressive
-
had been enteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of enter
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English entren, from Old French entrer, from Latin intrāre “to enter,” from intrā intra- ( def. )
Explanation
To enter is to go inside or into a place. When you enter your house after school, you might pet your cat and take off your shoes. You might enter the kitchen to see what's for dinner, or enter the library to look for a book to read. In both cases, you go from one place into another, through a doorway. If you're an actor, the word enter takes on a different meaning: to appear on the stage during a play. The stage directions might read, "Enter the King, stage left." Countries also enter wars, and people enter contests — they register or become involved.
Vocabulary lists containing enter
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:
Resitting is not a requirement, according to the DfE, but colleges will generally enter students into exams when they think they are ready.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Messenger RNA technology uses synthetic molecular instructions encased in tiny fat bubbles that temporarily enter cells, causing them to produce targets that train the body’s immune system.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Now the retail giant is gearing up to enter a huge new market: Medicare.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
When travelers enter Dulles International Airport, they pass through a time capsule from the Space Age.
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
He saw me standing at the window and beckoned me to enter.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
But in this, as in all speculative enter- prises, the prizes have been few and the blanks many.
From Everybody's Guide to Money Matters: with a description of the various investments chiefly dealt in on the stock exchange, and the mode of dealing therein by William Cotton
Slipping along here covertly as Time, Bathsheba fancied she could hear footsteps enter- ing the track at the opposite end.
From Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
On enter- 193:3 ing the house I met his physician, who said that the patient was dying.
From Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy
The hope was that they could observe Kirk remotely enter- ing the computer and then identify the security breach.
From Terminal Compromise: computer terrorism: when privacy and freedom are the victims: a novel by Winn Schwartau
Soche a one was this Epaminundas, the famous Duke of Thebe, whose vertues gaue hym honour in life, and famous enter- prises, immortalitée of fame after death.
From A booke called the Foundacion of Rhetorike because all other partes of Rhetorike are grounded thereupon, euery parte sette forthe in an Oracion vpon questions, verie profitable to bee knowen and redde by Richard Rainolde
The team of attorneys general can also show jurors select evidence to support those claims at opening statements on Tuesday, weeks before most of it enters the record through witness testimony, Gonzalez Rogers ruled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
As that debris enters our planet's atmosphere, it burns up and creates spectacular streaks of light - meteors.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Whether that decision to “shut up and dribble” will hold as she enters the back half of her career remains to be seen.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026
In this established optical process, a pump beam enters a nonlinear crystal, where individual photons can split into pairs that may become quantum entangled.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026
The worst crime you could commit as a Persian human is to not have hot tea, pastries, cucumbers, nuts, and a basket of fruit at the ready when someone enters your house.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
They entered the US legally in 2014 on visas, and became lawful permanent residents in 2016.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
It flooded multiple times, suffered fires, and was repeatedly entered by people, all of which moved debris and complicated the archaeological record.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026
And they entered Monday with a paltry .672 OPS, on pace for their worst offensive month of the season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Ecuador's Ivonne A-Baki, a diplomat who represented Quito in the United States, has entered the race to lead the UN, the head of the General Assembly said in a letter Tuesday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
No controversies with reference to the truth or falsity of the communications should be entered into during their continuance.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
But many young Americans are entering a “happy medium” where they have both time and money to spend, said Michele Raneri, head of U.S. research and consulting at TransUnion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Arrivals must be registered, with identity checks to prevent those who pose security or public health risks from entering the EU undetected.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
The measures bar them from entering the United States and from carrying out transactions in the US financial system.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
As a public service corporation, the BBC operates under a royal charter that explicitly bars it from entering into out-of-court financial settlements to make litigation disappear.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026
He trembles in the webbing, even while trying his best to stand still—perhaps his biggest challenge yet since entering Asamando.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
