entrain

entrain verb: to draw (something) along as a current does.

Verb (1)

entrain (third-person singular simple present entrains, present participle entraining, simple past and past participle entrained)

(transitive) To draw (something) along as a current does.
- water entrained by steam
(transitive) To suspend (small particles) in the current of a fluid.
- In certain cases, it is possible to entrain enough of the solids continually in the effluent gas stream and then to disentrain them again away from the bed.1963, W. D. Jamrack, Rare metal extraction by chemical engineering techniques
(transitive) To set up or propagate (a signal), such as an oscillation.
(figuratively, transitive) To conjoin, to link; as in a series of entities, elements, objects or processes.
(transitive) To become trained or conditioned in (a pattern of brain behavior).
- There are several neurofeedback-related approaches that make use of auditory and/or visual stimulation (AVS) to entrain or disentrain brain electrical activity.2007, James R. Evans, Handbook of Neurofeedback: Dynamics and Clinical Applications, →ISBN
- Hence, interestingly, a speaker (VR) might disentrain in no-frequency but entrain in the frequency of a particular discourse function; we also have a speaker with the opposite pattern (DF).2013, Simone Bassis, Anna Esposito, Francesco Carlo Morabito, Recent Advances of Neural Network Models and Applications, →ISBN
(literary, rare, transitive) To draw, induce, or bring about.
- Thou muſt doe well, / Faith true obtaine: / Wit none repell, / Friend déere entraine.1568, Thomas Howell, “Of Counsaile”, in The Arbor of Amitie, Wherin Is Comprised Pleasant Poëms and Pretie Poesies, […], London: […] Henry Denham, […], →OCLC, folio 11, verso
- That infancie looketh forward, and age backward; was it not that which lanus his double viſage ſignifide? yeares entraine me if they pleaſe; but backward.1603, Michel de Montaigne, “Vpon Some Verses of Virgill”, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book III, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC, page 505

Verb (2)

entrain (third-person singular simple present entrains, present participle entraining, simple past and past participle entrained)

(intransitive, poetic, transitive) To get into or board a railway train.
- There were two further unscheduled stops, one at a small station, Skalice, where a small party of tourists entrained, and at Břeclav, a junction and customs post on the Austrian frontier.1947 January and February, Gerald Druce (Jun.), “A Journey on the "Slovak Arrow"”, in Railway Magazine, page 17
- [...] and the Southern Region has recently given another lead by adopting an approach practised for some time by certain U.S. commuter railroads - the pamphlet or brochure left on every seat at a rush-hour before passengers entrain.1959 April, “Talking of Trains: The S.R. tells the public”, in Trains Illustrated, page 174
Antonyms:

detrain
(transitive) To put aboard a railway train.
- to entrain a regiment
- The train of articulated L.N.E.R. stock, of the type used on the London suburban services, which you have seen travelling empty over the Cheshire Lines Committee's main line through Trafford Park about midday in a westerly direction, was probably being sent to entrain workers from Risley (between...1946 March and April, “The Why and The Wherefore: L.N.E.R. Suburban Trains on the Cheshire Lines”, in Railway Magazine, page 129
Antonyms:

detrain

Noun

entrain (countable and uncountable, plural entrains)

(archaic, transitive) Spirit, liveliness, vivacity, drive.
- [T]he greater number of reasonable people attributed the want of entrain and dullness of the whole thing to the presence of Monsignore ——.1847, Mrs. Butler, late Fanny Kemble, “Lines”, in A Year of Consolation. […], London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 60
- To some the delightful freshness and humour of Northanger Abbey, its completeness, finish, and entrain, obscure the undoubted critical facts that its scale is small, and its scheme, after all, that of burlesque or parody, a kind in which the first rank is reached with difficulty.1894, George Saintsbury, Pride and Prejudice (introduction)

entrain meaning in Tamil and Kannada

entrain in Tamil

தொடர்வண்டியில் அமர்த்து, தொடர்வண்டியில் ஏறு

entrain in Kannada

ರೈಲುಪ್ರಯಾಣಕ್ಕೆಂದು ಹೊರಡು, ರೈಲು ಹತ್ತು, ಬಂಡಿಯೇರು

Examples of entrain in a sentence

It is not the gawdy luſtre of the Purple, but the inward vertue of the Perſon, that proclaims Greatneſs; having alwayes obſerved you to entrain Humility and Integrity for your Retainers.1656 September 18 (Gregorian calendar), Richard Tomlinson, “To His Honoured, Learned, and Vertuous Friend, William Witheings Esq.”, in...
The Stomach (like an Aged Maid, / Shrunk up, for want of human aid) / The Common Debt of Nature paid, / And with it’s Deſtiny entrain’d their Fate.1697, [John Vanbrugh], “[Part I]”, in Æsop. A Comedy. […], 3rd edition, London: […] Richard Wellington, […], published 1702, →OCLC, Act II...
I was my own boss and I had my own hours, but unlike other bosses I entrained only my own ruin, my own bankruptcy.1939, Henry Miller, Tropic of Capricorn, Paris: The Obelisk Press Books; Les Éditions du Chêne […], published 3 June 1948, →OCLC, page 18:
If the world survives, this war will surely be taught as a textbook case of a colossal military blunder entrained by deceit and self-deception.2011 October 25, Robert Trivers, “The 2003 US War on Iraq”, in The Folly of Fools: The Logic of Deceit and Self-Deception in Human Life...

Antonyms of entrain

detrain

Forms of entrain

Verb
third-person singular present	entrains
present participle	entraining
past participle	entrained
past	entrained
Noun
plural	entrains

Origin of entrain

From Middle French entrainer (modern French entraîner /entrainer), from en- + trainer (“to pull, drag”).

From en- + train.

From French entrain, a deverbal from entraîner (“to charm, enthuse”) or a derivation from être en train (“to be in a good mood”).

Words formed from entrain

Words that rhyme with entrain

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about entrain

What does entrain mean?: Entrain means to draw (something) along as a current does.
What is entrain in Tamil?: Entrain in Tamil is தொடர்வண்டியில் அமர்த்து, தொடர்வண்டியில் ஏறு. See Entrain meaning in Tamil.
How do you use entrain in a sentence?: It is not the gawdy luſtre of the Purple, but the inward vertue of the Perſon, that proclaims Greatneſs; having alwayes obſerved you to entrain Humility and Integrity for your Retainers.
What part of speech is entrain?: Entrain can be a verb or a noun.
What is the past tense of entrain?: The past tense of entrain is entrained.

Words near entrain in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: entrain (page history and authors); entrain (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); entrain (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-entrain.wav.

Cite this entry: “entrain.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/entrain. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.