enforce
verb (used with object)
to put or keep in force; compel obedience to.
were enforcing
-
past progressiveof enforce.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
There’s plenty of work and existing scholarship that says the states were enforcing migration laws in the 19th century.
From Slate ● Mar. 16, 2026
The night of May 30, 2020, Stetson and other officers were enforcing a curfew when his group spotted four people in a parking lot.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 23, 2023
But surveys at the time suggested most people supported how the police were enforcing the new rules.
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2023
In a statement, Serbia's Interior Ministry said the police were enforcing public order and an earlier ban on all public gatherings related to the wall painting of Mladic.
From Reuters ● Nov. 9, 2021
Meanwhile the Cortes, confident in their own power, were enforcing their obnoxious decrees by the despatch of ships of war and troops to the Northern provinces.
From Narrative of Services in the Liberation of Chili, Peru and Brazil, from Spanish and Portuguese Domination, Volume 2 by Thomas Cochrane, Earl of Dundonald
