inject
verb (used with object)
to force (a fluid) into a passage, cavity, or tissue.
inject
1 American
[in-jekt]
/ ɪnˈdʒɛkt /
verb (used with object)
-
injects,
present (3rd person singular)
-
injected,
past participle, past
-
injecting
present participle
-
to force (a fluid) into a passage, cavity, or tissue.
to inject a medicine into the veins.
-
to introduce (something new or different).
to inject humor into a situation.
-
to introduce arbitrarily or inappropriately; intrude.
-
to interject (a remark, suggestion, etc.), as into conversation.
inject.
2
American
abbreviation
inject
British
/ ɪnˈdʒɛkt /
verb
-
med to introduce (a fluid) into (the body of a person or animal) by means of a syringe or similar instrument
-
(foll by into) to introduce (a new aspect or element)
to inject humour into a scene
-
to interject (a comment, idea, etc)
-
to place (a rocket, satellite, etc) in orbit
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
injectsimple
-
injectssimple
-
have injectedperfect
-
has injectedperfect
-
am injectingprogressive
-
are injectingprogressive
-
is injectingprogressive
-
have been injectingperfect progressive
-
has been injectingperfect progressive
Past
-
injectedsimple
-
had injectedperfect
-
was injectingprogressive
-
were injectingprogressive
-
had been injectingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of inject1
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin injectus, past participle of in(j)icere “to throw in,” equivalent to in- “in” + -jec- (combining form of jac- “to throw”) + -tus past participle suffix; see in- 2
Origin of inject.2
From the Latin word injectiō
Explanation
To inject is to give an injection, or a shot. When your doctor tells you that you need a flu shot, she wants to inject you with a vaccine that will help keep you from getting sick. You are most likely to hear the verb inject at the doctor's office. Veterinarians inject dogs each year with rabies vaccines, and sometimes if you're sick enough, a doctor or nurse might need to inject you with antibiotics. You can use inject in a figurative way, too: "I'd like to inject a new topic into this conversation, it's getting so boring." The Latin root is inicere, "to throw in" or "to throw on."
Vocabulary lists containing inject
Vocabulary from the Poem “Touchscreen” by Marshall Davis Jones
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Latin Love, Vol II: iacere
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The Night Diary
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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:
His lawyers had argued that because Texas planned to inject Howard with the same drug - pentobarbital - that was used on Pike, he faced the same risks.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Tishman Speyer, a commercial landlord, said it and other investors will inject $235 million into the property to refurbish its aging interior and exterior.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
The transformative weight-loss effects of GLP-1-based medications have led consumers to question what other substances they could inject in a quest for self-optimization.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
They were also able to inject different substances at separate depths, with delivery points spaced almost three millimeters apart.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026
I can’t let him inject me with anything, especially not anything developed by Erudite— maybe even by Jeanine.
From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth
A lone star bite, in contrast, instantly injects a galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose carbohydrate molecule into the blood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
“Slower model development injects uncertainty, but we are skeptical it reduces total demand over time,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
It also injects a bit of saliva, which contains anticoagulants to prevent the host’s blood from clotting as the mosquito feeds.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
Its chief executive, Fanta Aw, said the new policy "injects uncertainty, bureaucracy, and fear into a system that has long worked effectively. It is a solution in search of a problem."
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
The heat of her fingertips injects me with confidence.
From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles
Pike's legal team has offered the explanation that the pentobarbital chemical, with which she was injected, probably spread under skin rather than reaching her bloodstream in a sufficient quantity to kill her.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
"By creating a device that can be injected rather than surgically implanted, we are making these therapies simpler, safer, and more accessible, while still maintaining precise control over nerve activity."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
Pike, he said, had helped the execution team find a vein in her arm, and she was kind and polite while she was being injected.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
“No human heuristics were injected into it,” said Folkert Huizinga, a researcher who worked on Leela.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
Hours before the doctors began the autopsy, embalming fluid was injected into Garfield's circulatory system in order to stop his body from decomposing too fast.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
Why do we swab the arm with alcohol before injecting the drugs to kill them?
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026
The complaint also accuses Peters of injecting Mendoza “multiple times” with a “fat-dissolving” drug during a November livestream.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
The museum has neither publicly confirmed nor denied injecting herbicide into the tree, and has not responded to the BBC's questions.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Credit to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday for injecting a note of common sense into the debate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Scientists cut HeLa cells in half to show that cells could live on after their nuclei had been removed, and used them to develop methods for injecting substances into cells without destroying them.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
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