engrossed

American

[en-grohst] / ɛnˈgroʊst /

adjective

completely occupied or absorbed, as by something that captures the mind or attention; showing or characterized by such absorption.

A carefully planned light show, combined with a five-minute tapestry of spacey sounds by the quartet, brought the engrossed audience into a meditative state.
written or copied in a clear, attractive, large script or in a formal manner, as a public document or record.

In the year 1776 Hopkinson voted for the Declaration of Independence, and affixed his signature to the engrossed copy of that memorable instrument.

verb

the simple past tense and past participle of engross.

Other Word Forms

engrossedly adverb
self-engrossed adjective
unengrossed adjective

Etymology

Origin of engrossed

engross ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"This is all dog content, when will the cat programme be on?" one person engrossed in the service wrote in the chatroom on PetTV's streaming page.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

What engrossed him and his team was the Alto’s graphical display, which was destined to make the text-only displays of contemporary computers obsolete.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

Mr. Steele is also engrossed by the meltdown at the Heritage Foundation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

Their children were engrossed in a movie in the living room.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2025

I am entirely enamored, and so engrossed that I don’t see August until he comes to an abrupt stop in front of me.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023