v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Entered p. pr. & vb. n. Entering. ] [ OE. entren, enteren, F. entrer, fr. L. intrare, fr. intro inward, contr. fr. intero (sc. loco), fr. inter in between, between. See Inter-, In, and cf. Interior. ] 1. To come or go into; to pass into the interior of; to pass within the outer cover or shell of; to penetrate; to pierce; as, to enter a house, a closet, a country, a door, etc.; the river enters the sea. [ 1913 Webster ]

That darksome cave they enter. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

I, . . . with the multitude of my redeemed,
Shall enter heaven, long absent. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To unite in; to join; to be admitted to; to become a member of; as, to enter an association, a college, an army. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To engage in; to become occupied with; as, to enter the legal profession, the book trade, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To pass within the limits of; to attain; to begin; to commence upon; as, to enter one's teens, a new era, a new dispensation. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To cause to go (into), or to be received (into); to put in; to insert; to cause to be admitted; as, to enter a knife into a piece of wood, a wedge into a log; to enter a boy at college, a horse for a race, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To inscribe; to enroll; to record; as, to enter a name, or a date, in a book, or a book in a catalogue; to enter the particulars of a sale in an account, a manifest of a ship or of merchandise at the customhouse. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Law) (a) To go into or upon, as lands, and take actual possession of them. (b) To place in regular form before the court, usually in writing; to put upon record in proper from and order; as, to enter a writ, appearance, rule, or judgment. Burrill. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. To make report of (a vessel or her cargo) at the customhouse; to submit a statement of (imported goods), with the original invoices, to the proper officer of the customs for estimating the duties. See Entry, 4. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. To file or inscribe upon the records of the land office the required particulars concerning (a quantity of public land) in order to entitle a person to a right of preëmption. [ U.S. ] Abbott. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. To deposit for copyright the title or description of (a book, picture, map, etc.); as, “entered according to act of Congress.” [ 1913 Webster ]

11. To initiate; to introduce favorably. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To go or come in; -- often with in used pleonastically; also, to begin; to take the first steps. “The year entering.” Evelyn. [ 1913 Webster ]

No evil thing approach nor enter in. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Truth is fallen in the street, and equity can not enter. Is. lix. 14. [ 1913 Webster ]

For we which have believed do enter into rest. Heb. iv. 3. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To get admission; to introduce one's self; to penetrate; to form or constitute a part; to become a partaker or participant; to share; to engage; -- usually with into; sometimes with on or upon; as, a ball enters into the body; water enters into a ship; he enters into the plan; to enter into a quarrel; a merchant enters into partnership with some one; to enter upon another's land; the boy enters on his tenth year; to enter upon a task; lead enters into the composition of pewter. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To penetrate mentally; to consider attentively; -- with into. [ 1913 Webster ]

He is particularly pleased with . . . Sallust for his entering into internal principles of action. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ F. entre between, fr. L. inter. See Inter- ] A prefix signifying between, among, part. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. 'e`nteron an intestine + &unr_; a gland + -graphy. ] A treatise upon, or description of, the intestinal glands. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. 'e`nteron an intestine + &unr_; a gland + -logy. ] The science which treats of the glands of the alimentary canal. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL., fr. Gr. 'e`nteron an intestine + &unr_; pain: cf. F. entéralgie. ] (Med.) Pain in the intestines; colic. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Enter- + deal. ] Mutual dealings; intercourse. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The enterdeal of princes strange. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who makes an entrance or beginning. A. Seward. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. &unr_;. See Enteritis. ] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the enteron, or alimentary canal; intestinal. [ 1913 Webster ]

Enteric fever (Med.), typhoid fever. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. rod-shaped gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae; most occur normally or pathogenically in intestines of humans and other animals; those of the genus Erwinia are found in plants.
Syn. -- enteric bacteria, enterobacteria. [ WordNet 1.5 ]