enter
enter — verb
1. to move through a door, gate, or opening into a room, building, or other space.
to move through a door, gate, or opening into a room, building, or other space.
Reuben entered the classroom quietly and sat at the back.
enter + noun phrase (place)
Please knock before you enter someone else's office.
enter (no object)
The thief entered the house through an unlocked window at the back.
Visitors must enter the museum through the main gate on Park Street.
When the fire alarm sounds, do not enter the building until a guard says it is safe.
- enter a room
- enter a building
- enter a house
- enter through
Grammar Patterns
enter + noun phrase
enter (no object)
Common Mistakes
2. to sign up to take part in a race, contest, exam, or similar type of event.
to sign up to take part in a race, contest, exam, or similar type of event.
Apinya entered the city marathon last month and finished in third place.
enter + noun phrase (event)
Élise decided to enter for the national spelling bee at her school.
enter for + noun phrase
Two hundred students from Lincoln High entered the regional science fair with projects on robotics and water testing.
Yasmin entered her younger brother in the under-twelve tennis tournament.
If you want to enter the photography competition, you must send your picture before Friday.
- enter a competition
- enter a race
- enter a contest
- enter for
- enter in
- sign up for
more informal; used for clubs, classes, and events
- register for
more formal; common in academic and official contexts
- go in for
British English; used for competitions
- withdraw from
to remove yourself from a competition after entering
Grammar Patterns
enter + noun phrase
enter for + noun phrase
Usage Note
When the object is another person (e.g. a child or student), the structure is 'enter + someone + in/for + event'.
Common Mistakes
3. to put data, words, or numbers into a device, list, or form by pressing keys or
to put data, words, or numbers into a device, list, or form by pressing keys or writing.
Christopher entered his password and clicked the login button.
enter + noun phrase (data field)
The receptionist entered the patient's details into the hospital system.
enter + noun phrase + into + noun phrase
The nurse handed Koji a tablet and asked him to enter his allergy information before seeing the doctor.
Yael entered all the sales figures into the spreadsheet before the meeting.
The librarian entered the new books into the catalogue system one by one.
- enter data
- enter information
- enter details
- enter a password
- enter into
Grammar Patterns
enter + noun phrase
enter + noun phrase + into + noun phrase
Common Mistakes
4. to officially place a formal statement — such as a complaint, a plea in court, o
to officially place a formal statement — such as a complaint, a plea in court, or an objection — onto the written record by following proper procedure.
The lawyer entered a plea of not guilty on behalf of her client.
formal/legal: enter a plea
Several residents entered a formal complaint about the noise from the new factory.
enter + formal complaint
The judge ordered the clerk to enter the decision into the court records.
Adisa entered an objection when the other side introduced new evidence late.
The defendant entered an appeal against the court's decision three weeks later.
- enter a plea
- enter a complaint
- enter an objection
- enter an appeal
Grammar Patterns
enter + noun phrase
Usage Note
Commonly used with nouns like 'plea', 'complaint', 'objection', 'appeal', or 'protest' in legal and formal contexts. Frequently passive: 'A complaint was entered.'
Common Mistakes
5. to start belonging to a school, profession, or group as a recognised participant
to start belonging to a school, profession, or group as a recognised participant.
Felipe entered the university at the age of seventeen to study engineering.
enter + institution (enrolment)
Darius entered the legal profession after completing his bar exams.
enter + profession
After a coding bootcamp in Jakarta, Aylin entered the tech industry as a junior developer at a health start-up.
Our daughter hopes to enter medical school when she turns twenty-one.
To enter the monastery, candidates must show they are ready for religious life.
- enter a school
- enter a university
- enter a profession
- enter politics
- enter the workforce
- join
more general; can be used for any group or organisation
- become a member of
more explicit but less common in everyday speech
Grammar Patterns
enter + noun phrase
Usage Note
Subject is usually a person. Object is an institution, profession, or organisation. Compare with Verb Sense 2 ('join competition'): this sense focuses on joining an organisation long-term, not a single event.
Common Mistakes
6. to begin a specific span of time, a fresh stage of life, or a new situation.
to begin a specific span of time, a fresh stage of life, or a new situation.
The country entered a period of economic growth after the new trade agreement was signed.
enter + a period / phase
Padma entered her thirties feeling more confident about what she wanted in life.
When the two companies entered a new phase of their partnership, they hired more staff.
The peace talks entered a critical stage after both sides refused to compromise on borders.
Eri entered a new career chapter when she moved to Tokyo to lead the design team.
- enter a period
- enter a phase
- enter a stage
- enter an era
- enter a chapter
- end
to finish a period or phase
Grammar Patterns
enter + noun phrase
Usage Note
Frequently used with abstract nouns describing time periods or states: 'era', 'phase', 'stage', 'chapter', 'period'. Often literary or journalistic in tone.
Common Mistakes
7. (in a play or performance) to come onto the stage as a character, especially acc
(in a play or performance) to come onto the stage as a character, especially according to a stage direction.
In Act Three, the ghost enters through a trapdoor in the middle of the stage.
passive stage direction: ghost enters
The director told William to enter from the left side and stand near the table.
The script says "Enter the King, followed by his guards and servants."
After the queen exits, the clown enters and begins a long, funny speech.
- enter from
- enter left
- enter right
- enter the stage
- exit
the opposite stage direction; to leave the stage
Grammar Patterns
enter (stage direction)
Usage Note
This sense is most often found in stage directions in play scripts. It is rarely used in everyday conversation. The noun 'entrance' is more common for describing an actor's arrival on stage.
enter into
phrasal verbTo begin a formal agreement, discussion, or relationship.
The two companies entered into a partnership agreement.
We should not enter into any contract without legal advice.
enter on
phrasal verbTo start a new period of time, activity, or job.
The president will enter on his second term in January.
She entered on a new career as a teacher last fall.
enter upon
phrasal verbTo begin something, especially a new activity or period of time.
The team entered upon a challenging project this month.
He entered upon his duties as manager yesterday.
A law or rule begins to be used or applied.
The new traffic regulations come into force next Monday.
Did the smoking ban enter into force last year?
To officially register yourself or another person for a competition, school, or event.
Sara entered her name for the swimming competition.
Have you entered your name for the art class yet?
enter — noun
1. the button on a keyboard that you press after typing a line or when you want to
the button on a keyboard that you press after typing a line or when you want to tell a computer to carry out an instruction.
After you finish typing, press Enter to send your message to the group.
press Enter to confirm/send
After typing his search query into the browser bar, Ryo pressed Enter and the results appeared instantly on screen.
After filling in all the fields on the registration page, Dewi pressed Enter and saw a confirmation message.
Reuben pressed Enter twice by accident and sent the same message twice.
- press Enter
- hit Enter
- click Enter
- the Enter key
- tap Enter
- return key
older term; still used on some keyboards
Usage Note
Usually written without an article ('press Enter') or with 'the' ('hit the Enter key'). In computing manuals, 'Enter' is sometimes capitalised.
enter — combining form
1. a prefix meaning 'intestine', used at the start of medical words — for example,
a prefix meaning 'intestine', used at the start of medical words — for example, 'enteritis' means an inflamed intestine, and 'enterovirus' is a virus that infects the intestine.
The patient was diagnosed with enteritis, an inflamed intestine, after several days of severe stomach pain and fever.
enteritis = inflammation of the intestines
Enterocolitis causes painful swelling of the small and large intestines and can lead to severe dehydration if untreated.
The doctor suspected an enterovirus after the child developed a fever and stomach problems.
Enteropathy from gluten damages the lining of the small intestine, leaving patients unable to absorb nutrients.
- intestinal
the adjectival form used after the noun, e.g. 'intestinal infection'
Usage Note
This is not a standalone word but a prefix used in medical terminology. Common words formed with this prefix include 'enteritis', 'enterocolitis', and 'enterovirus'.
Word family
Synonym discussion
Sense: verb/1
'Enter', 'go into', 'come into', and 'step into' all describe moving inside a space, but they differ in formality and perspective. 'Enter' is the most formal and neutral — suitable for written instructions, official signs ('Do Not Enter'), and any register. 'Go into' is the default everyday phrase: 'I went into the kitchen to make coffee.' 'Come into' shifts the perspective toward the speaker or listener: 'Come into the living room — I want to show you something.' 'Step into' suggests a brief or deliberate movement — for instance, 'She stepped into the office for a quick chat.' In a sign warning people not to go inside, 'Do Not Enter' is standard; 'Do Not Go Into' would sound odd. Conversely, in casual conversation, 'I entered the kitchen' sounds overly formal — 'I went into the kitchen' is more natural.
Common collocations
Adverbs
- enter directly
- enter quietly
- enter illegally
- enter officially
Phrases
- right of entry
- point of entry
- no entry
Prepositions
- enter into
- enter through
- enter via
- enter by
Etymology
'Enter' comes from Old French 'entrer', which traces back to Latin 'intrare' meaning 'to go into'. The Latin root 'intra' means 'inside', and it is related to 'inter' (between). The word entered English through French after the Norman Conquest in the 11th century, gradually replacing the Old English word 'ingān'. Over time, 'enter' expanded from its original physical meaning (going into a place) to many abstract uses — entering a competition, entering data, entering a profession, or entering a new phase of life.