I. ˈentə(r) verb
( entered ; entered ; entering ˈentəriŋ, ˈen.triŋ ; enters )
Etymology: Middle English entren, from Old French entrer, from Latin intrare to enter, from intra on the inside, within; akin to inter between — more at inter-
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to go or come into a material place : make a physical entrance or penetration
knock on the door before you enter
no evil thing approach nor enter in — John Milton
b.
(1) : to come into the mind or feelings
a strange idea entered into his head
a spirit of tenderness entered into his heart
(2) : to come into something intangible
a tone of menace entered into her voice
c. : to pass or come into some particular state
by the Lord's favor he entered into a state of grace
entered into a deep coma
d. : to come into a group : gain admission : become a member : join
asked at what school he would enter
a debutante entering into society
2.
a. : to make a beginning : take the first steps : engage , start
entered into business
entering upon a career
entered upon a wearisome account of his travels
entered into negotiations with the enemy
b. : to begin to consider a subject
he had barely entered into the matter when the bell rang
once he had entered upon a question, he would never stop
c. : to make an entrance (as in a fugue) : begin
3. : to go in upon lands as a formal act of ownership : take possession
4. : to come upon the stage — often used as a stage direction in the subjunctive
enter Hamlet
enter four clowns
5. : to play a part : be a factor : have a bearing : contribute
all for the best: … sentiment won't enter in — Elizabeth Bowen
many processes enter into the making of this product
much anxious thought entered into the framing of this document
factors other than habitat enter in this varied adaptation — M.J.Herskovits
6. : to register or enroll in a competition : become a candidate in a competition
two days before the race he decided not to enter
candidates may enter for more than one scholarship
transitive verb
1.
a. : to come or go into : pass into the interior of : pass within the outer cover or shell of : penetrate , pierce
enter a house
rivers enter the sea
b. : to come into (the mind) : occur to
it never entered his head that he might be wrong
a new doubt entered his mind
c. : to come into (something intangible)
the shadow of passion entered her voice — Louis Bromfield
an extraordinarily beautiful girl who never entered his life — V.H.Brombert
2.
a.
(1) : to inscribe or make a record of : register
enter the names of qualified voters
enter a notation in a journal
enter a book in a catalog
(2) : sketch , depict
even entered these four mountains on the map he sent back — Frank Debenham
b. : to cause to go into or be received into something : cause to be admitted : enroll
enter a boy at a school
enter a horse in a race
c. : to put in : insert
enter a wedge into a log
she entered the key in the door — E.F.McGuire
d. of a male animal : to copulate with
3.
a. : to make a beginning in : take up : start , begin
the troops entered battle
enter the legal profession
b. : to pass within the limits of (a particular period of time)
we are entering a new era
4.
a. : to employ for the first time in actual hunting, racing, hawking : exercise initially : train ; specifically : to break in (a horse)
b. archaic : to introduce to a subject : initiate
5.
a. : to become a member of : join
enter the army
enter the university
b.
(1) : to become an active participant in
enter a war
enter a discussion
(2) : to become a candidate in (a contest or competition)
enter a race
enter a short-story contest
6. : to go into (a subject) : examine , consider
for the moment I will not enter the question of how this decision is to be formulated precisely — M.G.White
7.
a. : to become a part of : merge with
the hemlock that killed Socrates … is significant only because it enters the context of human cultural history — L.A.White
b. : to have an intuitive sympathy with : identify oneself with : understand
few Americans can enter the poem completely — William Power
it is hard to enter the feelings of another
8. : to make report of (a ship or her cargo) at the customhouse : submit a statement of (imported goods) with the original invoices to the proper officer of the customs for estimating the duties — see entry 6
9.
a. : to place in regular form before a law court usually in writing : put upon record in proper form and order
enter a writ
enter a judgment
b. : to file or inscribe upon the records of the land office the required particulars concerning (a quantity of public land) in order to secure the right of preemption
c. : to deposit for copyright the title or description of (as a book, picture, map)
entered according to act of congress
10. : to go into or upon and take actual possession of (as lands)
11. : to put on record (a statement of one's position) : present formally or informally : advance , interject
entering a solemn protest against this forcible intrusion
entered a caution against excessive haste
specifically : to submit (an offer of a price) in competition with others — used chiefly in the phrase enter a bid
enter a bid at an auction
12.
a. : to bring into play (a man that is on the bar) in backgammon
b. : to cause (one's own hand or dummy) to win a trick in bridge in order to lead to the next trick
Synonyms:
penetrate , pierce , probe : enter is a general term without definite implications
one enters the apartment through a hallway
thieves entered the apartment and ransacked it
but sometimes, especially when the object is a thing, it may suggest a pushing through a resisting medium
the bullet entered his chest
penetrate is applicable to entrance or passage through motivated by an impelling force or facilitated by strength, acuteness, or resolution
a fiber that the ordinary needle with not penetrate
penetrating the defense in this sector
the third attack of the Mexicans succeeded in gaining a breach in the walls. The Mexicans now penetrated into the interior of the fortress — American Guide Series: Texas
serving out potential enemies, spreading dissension and confusion; they have penetrated to high and sensitive places — Vannevar Bush
a mind capable of making great and penetrating analyses of the nature of the human spirit — William Barrett
pierce is likely to suggest the entering, running through, or cutting through of a sharp pointed instrument
to pierce the skin with a lancet
a sword blade that pierced me through and through — Vachel Lindsay
able, with the glittering lance of his paradoxes, to pierce many a weak point in the modernist armor — F.B.Millett
probe may suggest exploratory or investigating penetration with or as if with a pointed instrument
a dentist probing a cavity
with surgical objectivity … probes every detail of his early life and education — Stuart MacClintock
a squadron of Federal men … have been probing into his financial affairs — H.H.Martin
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- enter into
- enter into force
- enter the lists
II. noun
( -s )
: the entrance of a character upon the scene in a play