Enlist

How to spell enlist

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce enlist

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does enlist mean?

1. verbTo join the armed forces, or to formally enrol a person in them.
2. verbTo obtain or secure someone's help, support, or participation in a task.

Enlist in a sentence

• He decided to enlist in the navy after finishing college.

• The charity hoped to enlist local businesses in the fundraising drive.

• The recruiting office can enlist new soldiers within a single morning.

• She had to enlist her colleagues to finish the report on time.

Where does enlist come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The word enlist was assembled in English in the seventeenth century from the prefix en-, meaning 'to put into' or 'to cause to be in', and the noun list, in the sense of a roll or register of names. That noun list traces back through Old French liste to a Germanic root meaning a 'border' or 'strip', because early lists were strips of paper or the edges of cloth on which names and items were written. To enlist therefore meant literally to enter someone's name on a list, especially a muster roll of soldiers. From the specific military act of signing up recruits, the meaning broadened to include enrolling oneself in any cause and, more loosely, securing someone's help or support. The plain spelling rarely troubles writers, though the single l after en- and the absence of a double consonant are the small points worth fixing in memory.

How the word is built

• en- (to put into)
• list (a roll or register of names)