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.
-
to make a beginning (often followed by on orupon ).
We have entered upon a new phase in history.
-
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.
-
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)
-
(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
-
enterernoun
-
preenterverb (used without object)
-
enterableadjective
-
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:
I wasn’t about to enter my email address or any personal information.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
By adding the two-time reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, the Dodgers are poised to enter October in pursuit of a three-peat with one of the best pitching rotations in MLB history.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
"Microorganisms convert around ten percent of the organic carbon from the sediments into gases, which rise into the water and can then enter our atmosphere."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
Spanish officials said migrants who enter Ceuta cannot freely travel into the rest of Spain because identity checks remain in place before any ferry or air travel to the mainland.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
Even across the ocean, the madness seemed to be spreading: the papers said America would enter.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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 Cotton, William
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 Schwartau, Winn
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 Eddy, Mary Baker
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 Hardy, Thomas
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 Rainolde, Richard
As the Iran war enters its sixth month, neither side appears any closer to softening its positions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
The EU's comprehensive AI law enters into force in stages.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
This could be the final free agency decision James will ever make as the 41-year-old enters a record-breaking 24th season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
After caffeine from coffee enters the body, it is processed by the liver and usually reaches its highest concentration within about an hour.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
It enters a chestnut effortlessly, devours the cambium cells, and positions itself for attack on the next tree before the tree has the faintest idea, chemically speaking, what hit it.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
UBS Financial Services entered into settlements with the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Chelsea, Mudryk and his representatives have entered an initial two-week assessment period to evaluate how he adapts to life back in an elite football environment.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Graduates who have already entered the job market without much experience can still fill those gaps, Hendler-Grunt said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
Spanish authorities estimated that 60,000 migrants breached the border and entered Ceuta, but some residents said it seemed like more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
In November, John Seward put the two dog sleds from the school together, borrowed another team from the Trading Post, and entered me and my friend Julia Englet in the three-hundred-mile Ikuma—Nome Express Race.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
It's also become the most common way for people to be detected entering the UK illegally.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Upon entering the home, guests are greeted with classic Hamptons charm and modern luxury, offering vaulted ceilings, five fireplaces, a sunken living room, formal dining room, and an expansive chef’s kitchen designed for entertaining.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
“Do we think that entering into negotiations with Google, Meta and Amazon are closer to making a covenant with God, or making a deal with the devil?” he asked the council.
From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2026
Around half of Israelis believed that entering a church is forbidden, up from 10% in 2008, according to a poll published in September by the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue, an Israel-based interreligious group.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
But not as dangerous as a non-Jew entering the ghetto, and it didn’t break my promise to Mrs. Diamant.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
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.
