Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

entrain1

[en-treyn]
See more synonyms for entrain on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object)
  1. to go aboard a train.
Show More
verb (used with object)
  1. to put aboard a train.
Show More

Origin of entrain1

First recorded in 1880–85; en-1 + train
Related formsen·train·er, noun

entrain2

[en-treyn]
verb (used with object)
  1. Chemistry. (of a substance, as a vapor) to carry along (a dissimilar substance, as drops of liquid) during a given process, as evaporation or distillation.
  2. (of a liquid) to trap (bubbles).
  3. Meteorology. to transfer (air) into an organized air current from the surrounding atmosphere (opposed to detrain).
Show More

Origin of entrain2

1560–70; < Middle French entrainer, equivalent to en- en-1 + trainer to drag, trail; see train
Related formsen·train·ment, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for entrain

Historical Examples

  • In reply to this the Russians were ordered to at once entrain.

    The Traitors

    E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim

  • The frills are now all over and it is get ready to entrain and cross over to France.

    The Red Watch

    J. A. Currie

  • Eventually, on the 8th, orders were received to entrain the next day.

  • "Let them entrain with our boys, sir," suggested the kindly Anzac major.

    A Lively Bit of the Front

    Percy F. Westerman

  • He found to his disappointment that only by returning to Madras could he entrain for Beypore.

British Dictionary definitions for entrain

entrain1

verb
  1. to board or put aboard a train
Show More
Derived Formsentrainment, noun

entrain2

verb (tr)
  1. (of a liquid or gas) to carry along (drops of liquid, bubbles, etc), as in certain distillations
  2. to disperse (air bubbles) through concrete in order to increase its resistance to frost
  3. zoology to adjust (an internal rhythm of an organism) so that it synchronizes with an external cycle, such as that of light and dark
Show More
Derived Formsentrainment, noun
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 entrain

v.

"to draw along," 1560s, from French entrainer (12c.), from en- "away" (see en- (1)) + trainer "to drag" (see train (n.)). Related: Entrained; entrainment. A word in chemistry; the word meaning "to get on a locomotive train" is a native formation from the 1860s.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper