ENGROSSED • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Engrossed

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/ɪngrˈoʊst/ Listen

verb

Engross v. t. (past & past part. engrossed; pres. part. engrossing)

1.

To make gross, thick, or large; to thicken; to increase in bulk or quantity. (Obs.) "Waves... engrossed with mud." "Not sleeping, to engross his idle body."

2.

To amass. (Obs.) "To engross up glorious deeds on my behalf."

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." "Laws that may be engrossed on a finger nail."

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.

Engrossed bill (Legislation), one which has been plainly engrossed on parchment, with all its amendments, preparatory to final action on its passage.

Engrossing hand (Penmanship), a fair, round style of writing suitable for engrossing legal documents, legislative bills, etc.

Synonyms: To absorb; swallow up; imbibe; consume; exhaust; occupy; forestall; monopolize. See Absorb.

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Etymology of 'Engrossed'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Engrossed" Quotes from Famous Books

... staff, were present. The mayor rose and in the most dignified way read a finished speech to General Grant, who stood, as usual, very awkwardly; and the mayor closed his speech by handing him the resolutions of the City Council engrossed on parchment, with a broad ribbon and large seal attached. After the mayor had fulfilled his office so well, General Grant said: "Mr. Mayor, as I knew that this ceremony was to occur, and as I am ...

— The Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman, Complete • William T. Sherman

... when we overtook the funniest layout I have seen since Cora Belle[2] drove up to our door the first time. In a wobbly old buckboard sat a young couple completely engrossed by each other. That he was a Westerner we knew by his cowboy hat and boots; that she was an Easterner, by her not knowing how to dress for the ride across the desert. She wore a foolish little chiffon hat which the alkali dust had ruined, and ...

— Letters on an Elk Hunt • Elinore Pruitt Stewart

... part of his life as any other portion of the day, no matter what activities the school provides, and we do violence to the facts when we assume or argue otherwise. Here is a place for emphasis. Here is the rock on which many a pedagogical bark has suffered shipwreck. We become so engrossed in the mechanics of our task—grades, tests, examinations, and promotions—that we lose sight of the fact that we are dealing with real life in a situation that is a part of the real world. The best preparation for life is to practice life aright, and this is the real ...

— The Reconstructed School • Francis B. Pearson

... up to the nursery, trying to feel as much like that impersonation of a bear which would inevitably be demanded of me as is possible to a man of mild temperament. But I had alarmed myself unnecessarily. There was no demand for bears. Each child lay on its front, engrossed in a volume of The Children's Encyclopaedia. Nobody looked up as I came in. Greatly relieved, I also took a volume of the great work and lay down on my front. I came away from my week-end a different man. For the first ...

— If I May • A. A. Milne

... seemed to eat their way into the sky. Around him, the night life of the great city spread itself out in waves of gilded vice and black and sordid crime. Its many voices fell upon deaf ears. Until long past midnight, he sat engrossed in a ...

— The Black Box • E. Phillips Oppenheim

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