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 or upon): 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)
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.
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.
to make a formal record of (a fact).
to occupy or to take possession of (lands); make an entrance, entry, ingress in, under claim of a right to possession.
to file an application for (public lands).
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 Phrases
enter into,
to participate in; engage in.
to investigate; consider: We will enter into the question of inherited characteristics at a future time.
to sympathize with; share in.
to form a constituent part or ingredient of: There is another factor that enters into the situation.
to go into a particular state: to enter into a state of suspended animation.
Origin of enter
1200–50;Middle Englishentren < Old Frenchentrer < Latinintrāre to enter, derivative of intrā within
Related formsen·ter·a·ble, adjectiveen·ter·er, nounpre·en·ter, verb (used without object)un·en·ter·a·ble, adjectiveun·en·tered, adjectivewell-en·tered, adjectiveCan be confusedenterinter
late 13c., from Old French entrer, from Latin intrare "to go into, enter" (source of Spanish entrar, Italian entrare), from intra "within," related to inter (prep., adj.) "among, between" (see inter-). Related: Entered; entering.
