Enter

How to spell enter

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce enter

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does enter mean?

1. verbTo come or go into a place or space.
2. verbTo type or write information into a form, list, or system.
3. verbTo join or formally take part in a competition, agreement, or course.

Enter in a sentence

• Please knock before you enter the office.

• Staff must enter each sale into the spreadsheet by closing time.

• Hundreds of runners enter the marathon every spring.

• Visitors enter the museum through the main hall.

• You can enter your card details on the secure payment page.

• The two firms agreed to enter a long-term partnership.

Where does enter come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin verb intrare, meaning 'to go in' or 'to step inside', which was formed on the preposition intra, meaning 'within' or 'inside'. The same family includes inter, 'among' or 'between', so the underlying idea is always one of going inward. English took the word in during the early 1300s through Old French entrer, which kept both the spelling and the sense of moving into a space. Over the centuries the meaning widened from simply walking through a doorway to include joining an organisation, taking part in a competition, and recording information in a list or ledger. The plain spelling rarely troubles adults, since the modern form sits very close to its French and Latin ancestors with no hidden letters.

How the word is built

• enter (from Latin intrare: to go in, built on intra/inter meaning 'within')