entrain

verb

"entrain" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“entrain” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To draw (something) along as a current does.

Corpus desk

Index EN-entrain · entrain · English

entrain · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "E" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for entrain
PropertyValue
Headwordentrain
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “entrain” in English

entrainranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

entrain is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.

entrain doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French entrainer (modern French entraîner /entrainer), from en- + trainer (“to pull, drag”). The correct English form is entrain, spelled E-N-T-R-A-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    To draw (something) along as a current does.
  2. 2
    To suspend (small particles) in the current of a fluid.
  3. 3
    To set up or propagate (a signal), such as an oscillation.
  4. 4
    To conjoin, to link; as in a series of entities, elements, objects or processes.
  5. 5
    To become trained or conditioned in (a pattern of brain behavior).
  6. 6
    To draw, induce, or bring about.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how entrain appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. water entrained by steam
  2. 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.

Etymology

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

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "entrain"?
"entrain" is spelled E-N-T-R-A-I-N.
What does "entrain" mean?
As a verb, "entrain" means: To draw (something) along as a current does.
What is the origin of the word "entrain"?
From Middle French entrainer (modern French entraîner /entrainer), from en- + trainer (“to pull, drag”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list