To enter means to go into a place or space. When you enter a room, you cross through the doorway from outside to inside. Students enter the school building in the morning, actors enter the stage during a play, and astronauts enter their spacecraft before launch.

The word also describes joining or becoming part of something. When you enter a contest, you sign up to compete. When a country enters a war, it becomes involved in the conflict. A student might enter high school, meaning they begin attending as a new member of that community.

Enter can mean typing or recording information, especially into a computer or form. You enter your password to log in, or enter data into a spreadsheet. Before computers, people would enter information by writing it in ledgers or record books.

In mathematics, you'll hear about numbers entering into calculations, meaning they become part of the equation. The phrase “enter the picture” means something or someone becomes part of a situation: After the detective entered the picture, the mystery began to unravel.

The opposite of enter is exit, which means to leave or go out.