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Webster 1913 Edition

Engross

En-gross′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Engrossed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Engrossing
.]
[F., fr. pref.
en-
(L.
in
) +
gros
gross,
grosse
,
n.
, an engrossed document: cf. OF.
engrossir
,
engroissier
, to make thick, large, or gross. See
Gross
.]
1.
To make gross, thick, or large; to thicken; to increase in bulk or quantity.
[Obs.]
Waves . . .
engrossed
with mud.
Spenser.
Not sleeping, to
engross
his idle body.
Shakespeare
2.
To amass.
[Obs.]
To
engross
up glorious deeds on my behalf.
Shakespeare
3.
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;
as, to
engross
a deed or like instrument on parchment
.
Some period long past, when clerks
engrossed
their stiff and formal chirography on more substantial materials.
Hawthorne.
Laws that may be
engrossed
on a finger nail.
De Quincey.
4.
To seize in the gross; to take the whole of; to occupy the attention completely; to absorb;
as, the subject
engrossed
all his thoughts
.
5.
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;
as, to
engross
commodities in market; to
engross
power.
Syn. – To absorb; swallow up; imbibe; consume; exhaust; occupy; forestall; monopolize. See
Absorb
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Engross

ENGRO'SS

, v.t.
1.
Primarily, to make thick or gross; to thicken. [Not now used.]
2.
To make larger; to increase in bulk. [Not used.]
3.
To seize in the gross; to take the whole; as, worldly cares engross the attention of most men, but neither business nor amusement should engross our whole time.
4.
To purchase, with a view to sell again, either the whole or large quantities of commodities in market, for the purpose of making a profit by enhancing the price. Engrossing does not necessarily imply the purchase of the whole of any commodity, but such quantities as to raise the price, by diminishing the supplies in open market, and taking advantage of an increased demand.
5.
To copy in a large hand; to write a fair, correct copy, in large or distinct, legible characters, for preservation or duration; as records of public acts, on paper or parchment.
6.
To take or assume in undue quantities or degrees; as, to engross power.

Definition 2024

engross

engross

English

Verb

engross ‎(third-person singular simple present engrosses, present participle engrossing, simple past and past participle engrossed)

  1. (transitive, now law) To write (a document) in large, aesthetic, and legible lettering; to make a finalized copy of.
    • Nathaniel Hawthorne
      some period long past, when clerks engrossed their stiff and formal chirography on more substantial materials
    • De Quincey
      laws that may be engrossed on a finger nail
  2. (transitive, business, obsolete) To buy up wholesale, especially to buy the whole supply of (a commodity etc.).
  3. (transitive) To monopolize; to concentrate (something) in the single possession of someone, especially unfairly.
    • 1644, John Milton, Aeropagitica:
      After which time the Popes of Rome, engrossing what they pleas'd of Politicall rule into their owne hands, extended their dominion over mens eyes, as they had before over their judgements, burning and prohibiting to be read, what they fancied not […]
    • 2007, John Burrow, A History of Histories, Penguin 2009, pp. 125-6:
      Octavian then engrosses for himself proconsular powers for ten years in all the provinces where more than one legion was stationed, giving him effective control of the army.
  4. (transitive) To completely engage the attention of.
    She seems to be completely engrossed in that book.
  5. (transitive, obsolete) To thicken; to condense.
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.4:
      As, when a foggy mist hath overcast / The face of heven, and the cleare ayre engroste, / The world in darkenes dwels […]
  6. To make gross, thick, or large; to thicken; to increase in bulk or quantity.
    • Spenser
      waves […] engrossed with mud
    • Shakespeare
      not sleeping, to engross his idle body
  7. (obsolete) To amass.
    • Shakespeare
      to engross up glorious deeds on my behalf

Synonyms

Related terms

Coordinate terms

  • (to write out in large characters): longhand

Translations

References

  • “engross” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).

Etymology

From Middle English engrossen, from Anglo-Norman engrosser ‎(“to gather in large quantities, draft something in final form”); partly from the phrase en gros ‎(“in bulk, in quantity, at wholesale”), from en- + gros; and partly from Medieval Latin ingrossō ‎(“thicken, write something large and in bold lettering”, v.), from in- + grossus ‎(“great, big, thick”), from Old High German grōz ‎(“big, thick, coarse”), from Proto-Germanic *grautaz ‎(“large, great, thick, coarse grained, unrefined”), from Proto-Indo-European *ghrewə- ‎(“to fell, put down, fall in”). More at in-, gross.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ɛnˈɡrəʊs/, /ɛŋˈɡrəʊs/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ɛnˈɡroʊs/, /ɛŋˈɡroʊs/
  • Rhymes: -əʊs

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