What does entry mean?
An entry is, most fundamentally, the act of going or coming into a place — as when one gains entry to a building — or the right to do so. From this core sense the word has broadened to cover anything that is 'entered': a single item written into a diary, ledger, logbook, or computer database; a submission sent to a competition; and, in reference works such as dictionaries and encyclopedias, the individual article devoted to a particular headword. The word is neutral in tone and appears constantly in everyday, legal, technical, and administrative language: signs read 'No entry', offices speak of data entry clerks, and contests invite entries before a closing date. Its versatility comes from this shared idea of something passing through a threshold, whether a person through a door, a figure into an account book, or a word onto a page. Few common nouns serve so many distinct domains so naturally.
nounAn act of going or coming into a place; also, an item recorded in a list, diary, ledger, or database, or a word defined in a dictionary.
- The act or right of entering a place.
- A single item recorded in a diary, ledger, list, competition, or database.
- A word or phrase defined in a dictionary or encyclopedia.
"The security guard noted her entry in the visitors' log at precisely nine o'clock."
"Entry to the museum is free on Sundays."
"She wrote a brief entry in her journal before going to bed."
Regular plural, used for multiple records, submissions, or dictionary articles.
"The accountant reviewed all the entries in last month's ledger."
Every time you type into a spreadsheet you're performing 'data entry' — and the word itself entered English from Old French 'entree', literally 'the way in'.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of entry
Entry came into Middle English from Old French 'entree', formed from the verb 'entrer' ('to enter'), which derives from Latin 'intrare', from 'intra' ('within'). It has been used since medieval times for both physical admission and the recording of items in accounts, reflecting the practice of entering figures into ledgers. Cognates include French 'entrée', which in English now chiefly denotes the main course of a meal in North American usage, and the related words enter and entrance.
How entry is actually used
Neutral in register and used across everyday, legal, commercial, and technical contexts. In computing and data processing, 'entry' is standard for a single unit of stored information. In competitions, an entry is the item submitted by a contestant.
Easily confused with entry
An entrance is the physical doorway or point of access itself, while an entry is the act of going in or a record made in a list.