engross

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To write (a document) in large, aesthetic, and legible lettering; to make a finalized copy of.
  2. To buy up wholesale, especially to buy the whole supply of (a commodity etc.).
  3. To monopolize; to concentrate (something) in the single possession of someone, especially unfairly.
  4. To completely engage the attention of; to involve.
  5. To thicken; to condense.
  6. To make gross, thick, or large; to thicken; to increase in bulk or quantity.
  7. To amass.

Pronunciation

/ɪnˈɡɹəʊs/ /ɪŋˈɡɹəʊs/ /ɛnˈɡɹəʊs/ /ɛŋˈɡɹəʊs/ /ɛnˈɡɹoʊs/ /ɛŋˈɡɹoʊs/ en-us-engross.ogg en-au-engross.ogg

Word forms

engross engrosses engrossing engrossed ingross

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-West Germanic *graut, 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. By surface analysis, en- + gross.

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