Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To occupy exclusively; absorb.
- transitive verb To acquire most or all of (a commodity); monopolize (a market).
- transitive verb To write or transcribe in a large, clear hand.
- transitive verb To write or print the final draft of (an official document).
from The Century Dictionary.
- To make large or larger; make additions to; increase in bulk or quantity.
- To make thick or gross; thicken.
- To take in the gross or in bulk; take the whole of; get sole possession of; absorb completely: with or without all.
- Specifically To monopolize the supply of, or the supplies in; get entire possession or control of, for the purpose of raising prices and enhancing profits: as, to
engross the importations of tea; to engross the market for wheat. - To occupy wholly; take up or employ entirely, to the exclusion of other things: as, business engrosses his attention or thoughts; to be engrossed in study.
- To write out in a fair large hand or in a formal or prescribed manner for preservation, as a public document or record.
- Synonyms and Swallow up, Engulf, etc. (see
absorb ); to lay hold of, monopolize.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb obsolete To make gross, thick, or large; to thicken; to increase in bulk or quantity.
- transitive verb obsolete To amass.
- transitive verb To copy or write in a large hand (
en gross , i. e., in large); to write a fair copy of in distinct and legible characters. - transitive verb To seize in the gross; to take the whole of; to occupy the attention completely; to absorb.
- transitive verb To purchase either the whole or large quantities of, for the purpose of enhancing the price and making a profit; hence, to take or assume in undue quantity, proportion, or degree
- transitive verb (Legislation) one which has been plainly engrossed on parchment, with all its amendments, preparatory to final action on its passage.
- transitive verb (Penmanship) a fair, round style of writing suitable for engrossing legal documents, legislative bills, etc.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive To write (a document) in large,
aesthetic , andlegible lettering; to make afinalized copy of. - verb transitive, business, obsolete To
buy up wholesale, especially to buy the whole supply of (a commodity etc.). - verb transitive To
monopolize ; toconcentrate (something) in the single possession of someone, especially unfairly. - verb transitive To completely
engage the attention of. - verb transitive, obsolete To
thicken ; tocondense .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb consume all of one's attention or time
- verb devote (oneself) fully to
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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If we add that he did not merely "engross," but that he liberally shared his acquisitions with others, we shall perhaps best describe his special place and work in the world of letters.
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The movie managed to engross a room full of kids from one end to the other — and me, too.
Where the Wild Things Are: Kids eat it up, they love it so. | EW.com 2009
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I assume, for example, that the House could not constitutionally delegate to the Clerk or Speaker the authority to engross a bill that had not been specifically approved by the body (whether raising the debt level or doing anything else).
The Volokh Conspiracy » Is the Slaughter Solution constitutional? 2010
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I loved the journey the main characters were on, Daniel, Rupert and Emma were spot on, but the story line did not compel, engross, capture and direct our minds through this riveting story.
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” is worst of the series » Scene-Stealers 2009
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A few weeks later a merchant in Maine reported that politics seemed “to engross the attention of all classes of people.”
Ratification Pauline Maier 2010
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Nonfiction for younger children tends to lean more heavily on illustration than on prose, reasonably enough, and there is plenty to engross in "Peter Kent's City Across Time" Kingfisher, 48 pages, $16.99 , which came out in May.
A Good Time To Get Real Meghan Cox Gurdon 2010
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Movies still have more money to spend and continue to push the envelope, but since the 1930s screening of King Kong it's clear that simply adequate special effects coupled with a good story are sufficient to engross audiences.
MIND MELD: Which Medium is Driving Science Fiction...Books or Film/TV? 2008
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It sounds like it's going to engross readers into actually thinking and putting things together for themselves.
Spotlight & Giveaway: Angelology by Danielle Trussoni Donna 2010
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But if you like to watch beautiful images and at the same time engross yourself in a masterful world, at times unexpectedly keeping you at the edge of your seat, I recommend Black Swan as one of the best films of 2010, sure to be an Oscar contender in major categories.
Michael Russnow: Black Swan: A Must See Even if Ballet Ain't Your Thing Michael Russnow 2010
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But if you like to watch beautiful images and at the same time engross yourself in a masterful world, at times unexpectedly keeping you at the edge of your seat, I recommend Black Swan as one of the best films of 2010, sure to be an Oscar contender in major categories.
Michael Russnow: Black Swan: A Must See Even if Ballet Ain't Your Thing Michael Russnow 2010
Prolagus commented on the word engross
Ingrossare means "to enlarge" in Italian.
"To engross" is tenere occupato, assorbire (it can't be easily rendered in a single word).
Viagra websites can really engross... your mind
March 20, 2009
ruzuzu commented on the word engross
"To write out in a fair large hand or in a formal or prescribed manner for preservation, as a public document or record. The engrossing of documents was formerly executed in England, and for some purposes till a late period, in a peculiar hand, called the engrossing-hand, derived from the ancient court-hand, nearly illegible to all but experts. The engrossing-hand of the present day is a fair round hand, purposely made as legible as possible. The engrossing of testimonials and other commemorative documents is often a work of much art involving the employment of ornamental characters of various forms, and sometimes also of elaborate adornment, and a studied arrangement for effective display."
--CD&C
January 12, 2012