noun
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the act of going or coming in; an entering
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a way in; entrance
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the right or permission to enter
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astronomy another name for immersion
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ingress
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin ingressus a going in, commencing, equivalent to ingred-, stem of ingredī to go or step into, commence ( see in- 2, gradient) + -tus suffix of v. action, with -dt- > -ss-
Explanation
The act of entering something — like a building or a highway — is called ingress (antonym "egress"). If you work in a busy restaurant, you have to keep your kitchen ingress and egress straight or you risk a catastrophe with a full tray of dishes. In astronomy, ingress is also an act of entering, but it is at the beginning of an eclipse when the celestial body first begins to block the sun and cast a shadow. So in a lunar eclipse, ingress is when the Earth begins to pass between the Sun and the Moon, casting its shadow on the Moon. In a solar eclipse, ingress is when the Moon begins to pass across the face of the Sun, blocking it from the sight of observers on Earth.
Vocabulary lists containing ingress
"The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe
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Vocabulary from The Articles of Confederation
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The Articles of Confederation (1777)
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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.
Checkpoints currently block public access at major ingress points to the community.
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2025
"This incident is not related to proposed works to address current isolated pockets of water ingress which has recently been reported to the council."
From BBC • Oct. 12, 2024
It has a lifespan of about 30 years and concerns have mounted about the impact of water ingress on its safety.
From BBC • Mar. 1, 2024
It’s 1833 in Friel’s fictional small town, Ballybeg, where a sweet, putrid smell rising from the potato fields forebodes famine and an ingress of redcoats threatens to blight the local heritage.
From New York Times • Dec. 11, 2023
“Speaking of which, I may have a picture of—yes, here it is. An ingress point if ever there was one!”
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
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.
