entrance
1 Americannoun
-
entrances
plural
-
an act of entering, as into a place or upon new duties.
- Antonyms:
- exit
-
a point or place of entering; an opening or passage for entering, as a doorway.
- Antonyms:
- exit
-
the right, privilege, or permission to enter; admission.
People improperly dressed will be refused entrance to the theater.
-
Theater. the moment or place in the script at which an actor comes on the stage.
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Music.
-
the point in a musical score at which a particular voice or instrument joins the ensemble.
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the way in which this is done.
a sloppy entrance.
-
-
a manner, means, or style of entering a room, group, etc.; way of coming into view.
She mimicked Joan's entrance.
-
Nautical. the immersed portion of a hull forward of the middle body (opposed to run).
noun
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the act or an instance of entering; entry
-
a place for entering, such as a door or gate
-
-
the power, liberty, or right of entering; admission
-
( as modifier )
an entrance fee
-
-
the coming of an actor or other performer onto a stage
verb
-
to fill with wonder and delight; enchant
-
to put into a trance; hypnotize
Synonym Usage
Entrance, admittance, admission refer to the possibility of entering a place or a group. Entrance may refer to either possibility: Entrance is by way of the side door; entrance into a card game. Admittance refers more to place and suggests entrance that may be permitted or denied: to gain admittance to a building; no admittance. Admission refers more to special groups and suggests entrance by payment, by formal or special permission, privilege, and the like: admission to a concert, a game, to candidacy, the bar, to society.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
entrancesimple
-
entrancessimple
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have entrancedperfect
-
has entrancedperfect
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am entrancingprogressive
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are entrancingprogressive
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is entrancingprogressive
-
have been entrancingperfect progressive
-
has been entrancingperfect progressive
Past
-
entrancedsimple
-
had entrancedperfect
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was entrancingprogressive
-
were entrancingprogressive
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had been entrancingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of entrance1
First recorded in 1525–50; from Middle French; see enter, -ance
Origin of entrance2
Explanation
As a noun, entrance means an act of entering or something that provides a way to enter something. You can make a grand entrance when you arrive at a party, as long as you can actually find the entrance. Entrance has two pronunciations. If you put the accent on the first syllable, the word is a noun meaning the act of entering or the way into something ("an entrance to the building"). If the accent is on the second syllable, then entrance is a verb meaning "to enchant, charm, or enamor" — "You will be entranced by the movie; the scenery looks so real you will swear it is growing in the theater."
Vocabulary lists containing entrance
Beowulf vocabulary
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myPerspectives 9.2
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Gene Wilder (1933-2016) Tribute List
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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.
See Examples For:
The car had crashed through the entrance of the shop, smashing the glass, and remained just inside the doors on Friday night as emergency services remained at the scene.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
It was the woman in the crowd by the entrance, leaning on a rustic fence post, barfing up a whole lot of apples.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
Built in 2001, the single-story mansion sits behind a gated entrance and was designed to offer Foreman and his family both privacy and ample room to accommodate their interests.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026
Researchers found that the animals remain confined to the cave environment, staying within two meters of its entrance.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 21, 2026
“A lot of water here,” Rashawn said as they hurried to the entrance.
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
Later in one of the videos, McHenry appears to argue with a security worker near at one of the venue’s entrances.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
At Rome's occupied Morgagni high school, where students have barricaded entrances with desks, protesters pointed to the crumbling infrastructure as evidence of neglect.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
Among the new rules proposed is a ban on stopping within 15 meters of the entrances and exits of these venues.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
However, any foods identified in the rules, whether part of a meal deal or not, cannot be placed in the restricted locations, such as supermarket entrances.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
They started walking, trying to avoid the cave entrances, sticking close to the bank of the river.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
But innovation will remain a hard sell so long as users remain entranced by the big blur, where art becomes media, media becomes content, and content becomes time tossed into the wind.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
How Scotland, and other parts of the world, became entranced by the fairytale only for the reality of sport's essential brutality to hit them square between the eyes at Celtic Park on denouement day.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
Four-year-old Juni Wahab was entranced by the sight of the swallows and cormorants swooping low overhead and the rushing twists of water.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
By the 1870s his work—often passively comfortable with the standard paysage, or horizontal format, and entranced by distant spectacles like sunsets or mountaintops—began to seem sedate to serious viewers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
I sat a few feet away, entranced, close enough to hear the angry low-pitched buzzing of his wings, so at odds with his jewel-like appearance and jaunty attitude.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
As the star of Misty Green, Eleazar is an absolute mess, but an entrancing one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Brazil now need major surgery - starting with the area of the field where they used to be so strong, so creative, so entrancing - the midfield.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
Zimmer, a New York City comedian, is tasked with a heavy, grief-laden dramatic role, and she’s utterly convincing, entrancing in her stillness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026
Frank Gehry, as he became, told me that MTT was already an entrancing showman.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026
I had never before driven on roads between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, and I was looking forward to many miles of entrancing scenery.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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