Dictionaries › English

enter

Pronunciation: /ˈɛntə(ɹ)/

The English word “enter” has 17 meanings listed here.

verb

  1. To go or come into an enclosed or partially enclosed space.
  2. To cause to go (into), or to be received (into); to put in; to insert; to cause to be admitted.
  3. To go or come into (a state or profession).
  4. To type (something) into a computer; to input.
  5. To record (something) in an account, ledger, etc.
  6. Used as a stage direction, usually preceding the name of the character who appears.
  7. Used in the manner of a stage direction: to enter the picture, to become relevant.
  8. To become a party to an agreement, treaty, etc.
  9. To become effective; to come into effect.
  10. To go into or upon, as lands, and take actual possession of them.
  11. To place in regular form before the court, usually in writing; to put upon record in proper from and order.
  12. To make report of (a vessel or its cargo) at the custom house; to submit a statement of (imported goods), with the original invoices, to the proper customs officer for estimating the duties. See entry.
  13. To file, or register with the land office, the required particulars concerning (a quantity of public land) in order to entitle a person to a right of preemption.
  14. To deposit for copyright the title or description of (a book, picture, map, etc.).
  15. To initiate; to introduce favourably.
  16. To begin (a regular activity or job); to undertake; to take up.

noun

  1. The action of entering; an instance of entering.

Etymology

From Middle English entren, from Old French entrer, from Latin intrō (“enter”, verb), from intrā (“inside”). Has been spelled as "enter" for several centuries even in the United Kingdom, although British English and the English of many Commonwealth Countries (e.g. Australia, Canada) retain the "re" ending for many words such as centre, fibre, spectre, theatre, calibre, sombre, lustre, and litre.

Keep exploring: in the interactive dictionary every word of a definition is a link. Open “enter” there

More English words

About this dictionary

The English dictionary on Glottosphere has 650,529 entries with a page. Browse the English dictionary.

Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.