entry

American  

[en-tree] / ˈɛn tri /

noun

plural

entries

1. an act of entering; entrance.

2. a place of ingress or entrance, especially an entrance hall or vestibule.

3. permission or right to enter; access.

4. the act of entering or recording something in a book, register, list, etc.

5. the statement, item, etc., so entered or recorded.

   Synonyms:

   jotting, memo, note, record

6. a person or thing entered in a contest or competition.

7. vocabulary entry.

8. Law. act of taking possession of lands or tenements by entering or setting foot on them.

9. the giving of an account of a ship's cargo at a custom house, to obtain permission to land the goods.

10. Accounting. the record of any transaction found in a bookkeeper's journal.

11. Bookkeeping.

    1. double entry.

    2. single entry.

12. Mining. adit.

13. Also called entry card.  Bridge. a winning card in one's hand or the hand of one's partner that gives the lead to one hand or the other.

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entry British  

/ ˈɛntrɪ /

noun

1. the act or an instance of entering; entrance

2. a point or place for entering, such as a door, gate, etc

3. 1. the right or liberty of entering; admission; access

   2. ( as modifier )

      an entry permit

4. the act of recording an item, such as a commercial transaction, in a journal, account, register, etc

5. an item recorded, as in a diary, dictionary, or account

6. 1. a person, horse, car, etc, entering a competition or contest; competitor

   2. ( as modifier )

      an entry fee

7. the competitors entering a contest considered collectively

   a good entry this year for the speed trials

8. the people admitted at one time to a school, college, or course of study, etc, considered collectively; intake

9. the action of an actor in going on stage or his manner of doing this

10. criminal law the act of unlawfully going onto the premises of another with the intention of committing a crime

11. property law the act of going upon another person's land with the intention of asserting the right to possession

12. any point in a piece of music, esp a fugue, at which a performer commences or resumes playing or singing

13. cards a card that enables one to transfer the lead from one's own hand to that of one's partner or to the dummy hand

14. dialect a passage between the backs of two rows of terraced houses

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Usage

What is an entry? An entry is a place where you enter, especially a hall, passage, or vestibule, as in The entry to the movie theater was full of people excited to see the new superhero movie. An entry is also permission to enter something, as in Entry to the office building was limited to staff only. When you enter a contest, that act is an entry, too, as in Mack’s entry for the writing contest was a short story about angry robots. So is what you submit for the contest or another type of listing, like a dictionary entry. Example: I’ll be waiting at the entry point for your arrival.

Other Word Forms

• nonentry
  noun
• preentry
  noun

Etymology

Origin of entry

1250–1300; Middle English entre ( e ) < Old French entree < Latin intrāta (noun use of feminine of intrātus, past participle of intrāre to enter ), equivalent to intr- enter + -āta -ate ¹

Explanation

Entry has loads of meanings, most of them concerning going inside someplace and the way you happen to get inside. It can also refer to written records (as in a diary or ledger) or a submission to a contest. When you go into the room, you make an entry. The door you go through is also an entry. If you write in your diary about all this, you make an entry in your diary. If you submit your diary page to the "Awesome Writer" writing contest, your submission is also called an entry. And, finally, if you keep a spreadsheet for all your writing contest submissions, don't forget to make an entry (for this entry about an entry via an entry).

Example Sentences

“We’ve been thinking that maybe we should just flip to a for profit,” Brockman allegedly wrote in a private journal entry in 2017.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026

At the same time, lower prices create an attractive entry point for investors to rotate money into Treasuries from stocks, which have long been considered expensive.

From Barron's • May 4, 2026

The Goldrich’s sprawling white central canopy serves as a meeting place, and an entry and exit point, to other buildings in the complex.

From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2026

Early analysis shows its entry speed was within one mile per hour of predicted values.

From Science Daily • May 4, 2026

“Are you reading this?” he called to the entry team.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin

Related Words

• access
• entrance
• opening
• passage