enter

[ en-ter ]

/ ˈɛn tər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR enter ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

to come or go in: Knock before you enter.

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.

RELATED WORDS

listed, enrolled, posted

Nearby words

Origin of enter

1200–50; Middle English entren < Old French entrer < Latin intrāre to enter, derivative of intrā within

ANTONYMS FOR enter

1. leave. 7. remove.

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Related forms

en·ter·a·ble, adjectiveen·ter·er, nounpre·en·ter, verb (used without object)un·en·ter·a·ble, adjective

un·en·tered, adjectivewell-en·tered, adjective

Can be confusedenter inter

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for entered

Fluoride first entered an American water supply through a rather inelegant technocratic scheme.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
Former Gov. Jimmy Carter entered the 1976 Presidential campaign as a more or less total unknown.
The World’s Toughest Political Quiz|Jeff Greenfield|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The families announced along with it that they had entered a “phase of silence” surrounding the details of the new deal.
A Sunni-Shia Love Story Imperiled by al Qaeda|Ruth Michaelson|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A Spaniard by birth, Victor Serna left home shy of his 14th birthday and entered the monastery to become a Marist brother.
Obama’s One Hand Clap With Castro|Doug McIntyre|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Our relationship did not improve as I entered college and developed a raging eating disorder.
You’re Never ‘Cured’ of an Eating Disorder|Carrie Arnold|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As they entered the street it seemed as if they could hardly pass through.
Brenda, Her School and Her Club|Helen Leah Reed
They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.'
The Gospel of St. John|Frederick Denison Maurice
Why couldnt you girls have entered a year later or else we a year earlier?
Marjorie Dean College Junior|Pauline Lester
When my lead dog found him, and raised the yell, all the rest broke to him, but none of them entered his house until we got up.
A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett, of the State of Tennessee.|Davy Crockett
On the morning of the sixth, they entered the river, and the same evening reached London.
Self-control|Mary Brunton

British Dictionary definitions for entered

enter

/ (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)

(when intr, foll by into) 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 submitto enter a proposal

(intr) theatre to come on stage: used as a stage directionenter Juliet

(when intr, often foll by into, on, or upon) to begin; startto enter upon a new career

(intr often foll by upon) 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)
mainly US to file a claim to (public lands)

Derived Formsenterable, adjectiveenterer, noun

Word Origin for enter

C13: from Old French entrer, from Latin intrāre to go in, from intrā within

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for entered

enter

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.