enter

verb (entered; entering) Etymology: Middle English entren, from Anglo-French entrer, from Latin intrare, from intra within; akin to Latin inter between — more at inter- Date: 13th century intransitive verb 1. to go or come in 2. to come or gain admission into a group ; join — often used with into 3. a. to make a beginning <

entering upon a career

> b. to begin to consider a subject — usually used with into or upon 4. to go upon land for the purpose of taking possession 5. a. to come onstage — usually used in the subjunctive as a stage direction <

enter Hamlet reading

> b. to come into a preestablished situation or context like an actor coming onstage — usually used in the subjunctive <

enter the new principal with her radical ideas

> 6. to play a part ; be a factor <

other considerations enter when money is involved

> transitive verb 1. to come or go into <

enter a room

> 2. inscribe, register <

enter the names of qualified voters

> 3. to cause to be received or admitted <

enter a child at a school

> 4. to put in ; insert <

enter the new data into the computer

> 5. a. to make a beginning in <

enter politics

> b. to go into (a particular period of time) <

enter middle age

> 6. to become a member of or an active participant in <

enter the university

> <

enter a race

> 7. to make report of (a ship or its cargo) to customs authorities 8. to place in proper form before a court of law or upon record <

enter a writ

> 9. to go into or upon and take actual possession of (as land) 10. to put formally on record <

entering a complaint

> • enterable adjective Synonyms: enter, penetrate, pierce, probe mean to make way into something. enter is the most general of these and may imply either going in or forcing a way in <

entered the city in triumph

>. penetrate carries a strong implication of an impelling force or compelling power that achieves entrance <

the enemy penetrated the fortress

>. pierce means an entering or cutting through with a sharp pointed instrument <

pierced the boil with a lancet

>. probe implies penetration to investigate or explore something hidden from sight or knowledge <

probed the depths of the sea

>.