Meaning & use
enter
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To go or come into a place.
Grammar: Takes a direct object without into: enter the room, not enter into the room.
Patterns
- enter a place
- enter by something
Please knock before you enter the office.
A cold wind entered through the broken window.
The guests entered quietly and found their seats.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To take part in a competition, exam, or event, or to sign someone up for it.
Grammar: Can take a competition as an object or be followed by for: enter a race, enter for a prize.
Patterns
- enter a competition
- enter for something
- enter someone in something
She entered the town's art competition.
Over a hundred runners entered for the half marathon.
The school entered its choir in the national festival.
verbtransitive
To begin a new period, stage, or activity.
Grammar: Takes an object, often a period of time: enter a new era.
Patterns
- enter a phase
- enter a period
The economy entered a period of slow growth.
The two countries entered talks last week.
He entered the army at eighteen.
verbtransitivecomputing
To type or record information into a computer or a written record.
Grammar: Takes an object: enter your password.
Patterns
- enter something into something
- enter data
Enter your password to log in.
The clerk entered each order into the system.
Please enter the date in the box.
Word forms
| third person singular | enters |
|---|---|
| past tense and past participle | entered |
| present participle | entering |
Common combinations
- enter a room
- Everyone fell silent when she entered the room.
- enter a competition
- He decided to enter the poetry contest.
- enter data
- Staff enter data into the database each day.
- enter a password
- You must enter a password to continue.
- enter the market
- The company plans to enter the Asian market.
- enter into an agreement
- They entered into an agreement last year.
Synonyms and how they differ
- go in
- Go in is the everyday phrasal form, while enter is a neater and more formal single verb.
- join
- Join suggests becoming part of a group, while enter for a contest means signing up for it.
- penetrate
- Penetrate implies forcing a way through a barrier, which is stronger than simply entering.
- record
- Record is for writing information down, but enter means putting it into a particular system.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: enter or enter vs. entrance?
enter vs enter vs. entrance
Enter is a verb, and entrance is a noun for a doorway or a way in. The noun entrance is stressed on the first syllable.
Practice
Which sentence uses enter correctly?
Choose one answer.
Enter takes a direct object for places, with no preposition. Enter into is used for agreements and talks, not rooms.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “enter”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.