Dictionary.com

Popular Searches

 Thesaurus.com

en

1 American  
[en] / ɛn /

noun

  1. the letter N, n.

  2. Also called nut.  Printing. half of the width of an em.

adjective

  1. Printing. having the area of an en quad or the length of an en.

    en quad; en dash.
EN 2 American  

abbreviation

Biology, Ecology.

  1. endangered.

en- 3 American  

  1. a prefix occurring originally in loanwords from French and productive in English on this model, forming verbs with the general sense “to cause (a person or thing) to be in” the place, condition, or state named by the stem; more specifically, “to confine in or place on” (enshrine; enthrone; entomb ); “to cause to be in” (enslave; entrust; enrich; encourage; endear ); “to restrict” in the manner named by the stem, typically with the additional sense “on all sides, completely” (enwind; encircle; enclose; entwine ). This prefix is also attached to verbs in order to make them transitive, or to give them a transitive marker if they are already transitive (enkindle; enliven; enshield; enface ).

en- 4 American  

  1. a prefix meaning “within, in,” occurring in loanwords from Greek.

    energy; enthusiasm.
-en 5 American  

  1. a suffix formerly used to form transitive and intransitive verbs from adjectives (fasten; harden; sweeten ), or from nouns (heighten; lengthen; strengthen ).

-en 6 American  

  1. a suffix used to form adjectives of source or material from nouns.

    ashen; golden; oaken.
-en 7 American  

  1. a suffix used to mark the past participle in many strong and some weak verbs.

    taken; proven.
-en 8 American  

  1. a suffix used in forming the plural of some nouns.

    brethren; children; oxen.
-en 9 American  

  1. a diminutive suffix.

    kitten; maiden.
en- 1 British  

prefix

  1. (from nouns)

    1. put in or on

      entomb

      enthrone

    2. go on or into

      enplane

    3. surround or cover with

      enmesh

    4. furnish with

      empower

  2. (from adjectives and nouns) cause to be in a certain condition

    enable

    encourage

    enrich

    enslave
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
EN 2 British  

abbreviation

  1. enrolled nurse

  2. English Nature

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
-en 3 British  

suffix

  1. cause to be; become; cause to have

    blacken

    heighten
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
-en 4 British  

suffix

  1. of; made of; resembling

    ashen

    earthen

    wooden
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
en- 5 British  

prefix

  1. in; into; inside

    endemic
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
en 6 British  
/ ɛn /

noun

  1. Also called: nut.  printing a unit of measurement, half the width of an em See also ennage

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of en1

First recorded in 1785–95

Origin of en-3

Middle English < Old French < Latin in- in- 2

Origin of en-4

From Greek (often through Latin ); cognate with in- 1, in- 2

Origin of -en5

Middle English, Old English -n- (as in Middle English fastnen, Old English fǣstnian “to make fast, fasten”); cognate with -n- of like verbs in other Germanic languages ( Old Norse fastna )

Origin of -en6

Middle English, Old English; cognate with Old High German -īn, Gothic -eins, Latin -īnus; -ine 1

Origin of -en7

Middle English, Old English; cognate with German -en, Old Norse -inn

Origin of -en8

Middle English; Old English -an, case ending of n-stem nouns, as in naman oblique singular, and nominative and accusative plural of nama “name”; akin to n-stem forms in other Indo-European languages, as in Latin nōmen, nōmin- “name”

Origin of -en9

Middle English, Old English, from neuter of -en 2

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Brokers said a loaded supertanker chartered by Shell that was supposed to cross the Strait of Hormuz had idled, while another was racing through the strait en route to South Korea.

From The Wall Street Journal

Fakhar, restored to open after batting in the middle order against England, played his part with some crisp ball striking en route to 84 off 42 balls.

From BBC

Miss Piggy insists on living la vie en rose above all, including romancing herself.

From Salon

Aviation security specialists warn that many blow up or fail en route to their targets, exposing aircraft underneath their trajectories to falling debris.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Labour MP said it was "critical that we really consider what the impacts of data centres will be before we charge into approving them en masse".

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.