Nearby Words

enlist

[en-list] Example Sentences Origin

en·list

[en-list]
verb (used without object)
1.
to enroll, usually voluntarily, for military service: He decided to enlist in the Marines.
2.
to enter into some cause, enterprise, etc.
verb (used with object)
3.
to engage for military service: to enlist men for the army.
4.
to secure (a person, services, etc.) for some cause, enterprise, etc.: They enlisted us to serve as ushers at the meeting.

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Enlist is one of our favorite verbs.
So is hornswoggle. Does it mean:
to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.
to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.

Origin:
1690–1700; en-1 + list1

en·list·er, noun
pre·en·list, verb
un·en·list·ed, adjective


2. volunteer, join.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To enlist
Example Sentences
  • If your chair urges you to take on her pet committee, then enlist her help in getting you off another committee.
  • Five lobbying firms are busily at work, and an online effort to enlist support is under way.
  • But it doesn't have to be-if you enlist the experts.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
enlist (ɪnˈlɪst)
 
vb (foll by in)
1.  to enter or persuade to enter into an engagement to serve in the armed forces
2.  (tr) to engage or secure (a person, his services, or his support) for a venture, cause, etc
3.  to enter into or join an enterprise, cause, etc
 
en'lister
 
n
 
en'listment
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

enlist
1690s, from en- "make, put in" + list. Related: Enlisted; enlisting.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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