| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| enter |
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| SYLLABICATION: | en·ter |
| PRONUNCIATION: |   n t r |
| VERB: | Inflected forms: en·tered, en·ter·ing, en·ters
| | TRANSITIVE VERB: | 1. To come or go into: The train entered the tunnel. 2. To penetrate; pierce: The bullet entered the victim's skull. 3. To introduce; insert: She entered the probe into the patient's artery. 4a. To become a participant, member, or part of; join: too old to enter the army; entered the discussion at a crucial moment. b. To gain admission to (a school, for example). 5. To cause to become a participant, member, or part of; enroll: entered the children in private school; entered dahlias in a flower show. 6. To embark on; begin: With Sputnik, the Soviet Union entered the space age. 7. To make a beginning in; take up: entered medicine. 8. To write or put in: entered our names in the guest book; enters the data into the computer. 9. To place formally on record; submit: enter a plea of innocence; enter a complaint. 10. To go to or occupy in order to claim possession of (land). 11. To report (a ship or cargo) to customs. | | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | 1. To come or go in; make an entry: As the President entered, the band played “Hail to the Chief.” 2. To effect penetration. 3. To become a member or participant. | | PHRASAL VERBS: | enter into 1. To participate in; take an active role or interest in: enter into politics; enter into negotiations. 2. To become party to (a contract): The nations entered into a trade agreement. 3. To become a component of; form a part of: Financial matters entered into the discussion. 4. To consider; investigate: The report entered into the effect of high interest rates on the market. enter on (or upon) 1. To set out on; begin: We enter on a new era in our history. 2. To begin considering; take up: After discussing the budget deficit, they entered on the problem of raising taxes. 3. To take possession of: She entered upon the estate of her uncle. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English entren, from Old French entrer, from Latin intr re, from intr, inside. See en in Appendix I. | | OTHER FORMS: | enter·a·ble —ADJECTIVE
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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