entitle
Americanverb (used with object)
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to give (a person or thing) a title, right, or claim to something; furnish with grounds for laying claim.
His executive position entitled him to certain courtesies rarely accorded others.
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to call by a particular title or name.
What was the book entitled?
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to designate (a person) by an honorary title.
verb
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to give (a person) the right to do or have something; qualify; allow
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to give a name or title to
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to confer a title of rank or honour upon
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of entitle
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English entitlen, from Anglo-French entitler, variant of Middle French entituler, from Late Latin intitulāre; see en- 1, title
Explanation
Use the verb entitle to mean "give a right to." At some schools, being a senior might entitle students to go out for lunch on Fridays. The most common use of entitle is the one you might see on a coupon, like one for a free ride at the state fair that entitles the holder to one free ride on the Octopus of Terror. When you entitle someone, you give them a claim to something, like when you entitle someone the best goalie in Canada, or make someone a member of the noble class, like when the Queen entitles, or gives a title to, a worthy person.
Vocabulary lists containing entitle
Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress
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Commonly Confused Words, List 4
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The Bluest Eye
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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.
Current labor agreements entitle workers to double pay if they operate an electric and diesel vehicle, or work both in a rail yard and on an active train, in the same shift.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
TD Cowen’s Craig Hutchison says the U.S. government will be granted a participation interest which, once vested, will entitle it to receive 20% of any cash distributions over $17.5 billion made by Westinghouse.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 29, 2025
So, it could take you like two years to entitle land, sometimes even three or four years, but then it might take you another year to build it.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 27, 2023
Should the NIH deem that any federal grant money was used improperly, a successful suit would entitle the plaintiffs to a portion of the money the government can claw back.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 24, 2023
That’s how long Chacko and Rahel had to wait for the pink receipt that would entitle them to collect Ammu’s remains.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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.
