entail

verb en·tail \ in-ˈtāl , en- \

Updated on: 10 Apr 2018

1 : to impose, involve, or imply as a necessary accompaniment or result

the project will entail considerable expense

2 : to restrict (property) by limiting the inheritance to the owner's lineal descendants or to a particular class thereof

3 a : to confer, assign, or transmit (something) for an indefinitely long time : to confer, assign, or transmit as if by entail

entailed on them indelible disgrace
—Robert Browning

b : to fix (a person) permanently in some condition or status

entail him and his heirs unto the crown
—William Shakespeare

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entailer

play \in-ˈtā-lər, en-\ noun

—

entailment

play \in-ˈtāl-mənt, en-\ noun

See entail defined for English-language learners

See entail defined for kids

Examples of entail in a Sentence

Pregnancy involves the bodily dependence of the unborn child on its mother; in many cases, it entails a significant physical burden. —Cathleen Kaveny, Commonweal, 4 May 2007
… it was a Master Highlighter Event, a two-day guest appearance by one of Kinkade's specially trained assistants, who would highlight any picture bought during the event for free. Highlighting a picture is not that different from highlighting your hair: it entails stippling tiny bright dots of paint on the picture to give it more texture and luminescence. —Susan Orlean, New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2001
Life is a difficult and complicated enterprise. It entails joy but also suffering, gain but also loss, hope but also despair. —Neal Gabler, Life: The Movie, 1998
Discourse is a social as well as an intellectual activity; it entails interaction between minds, and it revolves around something possessed in common. —David A. Hollinger, In the American Province, (1985) 1992
He accepted the responsibility, with all that it entails.
a lavish wedding entails extensive planning and often staggering expense

Recent Examples of entail from the Web

Those were investigated, and Meehan was punished, although the school has not said what that discipline entailed.

— danny mcdonald, BostonGlobe.com, "At Brandeis, AD placed on leave pending probe into culture and policies," 6 Apr. 2018
But the deal that was struck earlier this week entailed Stewart-Cousins taking leadership and the eradication of the IDC, both of which had Cuomo’s support for the first time.

— alex shephard, The New Republic, "Cynthia Nixon Is in Andrew Cuomo’s Head," 5 Apr. 2018
How much that expansion entails politics is another matter.

— manuel torres, NOLA.com, "Its back to the wall, ESPN is trying something it never has before," 4 Apr. 2018
To face the feeling that nothing can be said entails the conviction to say something anyway.

— ian bogost, The Atlantic, "Silicon Valley 'Has No Words'," 4 Apr. 2018
Plans entail renovating four commercial buildings with retail and dining surrounding a central courtyard.

— luke money, latimes.com, "Costa Mesa wants further parking study for proposed commercial/residential project the Plant," 4 Apr. 2018
This entails installing the processor, RAM, and the heatsink that goes onto the processor to keep it cool.

— brendan nystedt, WIRED, "Want to Learn More About Computers? Try Building Your Own PC," 4 Apr. 2018
In a quickly changing city, in a quickly morphing populace, anyone who writes about food must examine, over and over again, all our predigested assumptions of what relevance entails.

— San Francisco Chronicle, "Faded luster," 1 Apr. 2018
Why: Planks entail minimal movement but contract all layers of the core, helping to strengthen the muscles that surround the source of back pain.

— emily abbate, GQ, "4 Simple Ways to Prevent Lower Back Pain from Ruining Your Life," 29 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'entail.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of entail

Middle English entailen, entaillen, from ¹en- + taile, taille limitation — more at ⁴tail

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First Known Use: 14th century

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entail Synonyms

entail

noun en·tail \ ˈen-ˌtāl , in-ˈtāl \

1 a : a restriction especially of lands by limiting the inheritance to the owner's lineal descendants or to a particular class thereof

b : an entailed (see ¹entail 2) estate

2 : something transmitted as if by entail

Origin and Etymology of entail

see ¹entail

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

ENTAIL Defined for English Language Learners

entail

verb

: to have (something) as a part, step, or result

Law Dictionary

entail

transitive verb en·tail \ in-ˈtāl \

: to make (an estate in real property) a fee tail : limit the descent of (real property) by restricting inheritance to specific descendants who cannot convey or transfer the property