Entail
/ɪnˈteɪl/
Definitions
To cause or involve something as a necessary consequence.
/ɪnˈteɪl/
To involve something as a necessary or inevitable part or consequence.
Building a new house entails a lot of hard work.
💡 Simply: Imagine you're baking a cake. Baking a cake ENTAILS certain steps, like mixing the ingredients and putting it in the oven. If you skip those steps, you won't have a cake!
👶 For kids: When something entails something else, it means the other thing has to happen. Like, going to school entails studying!
More Examples
The job entails working weekends.
This decision will entail significant risks.
How It's Used
"The contract entails certain obligations."
"Increasing production entails higher costs."
"Becoming a doctor entails years of study."
From Middle English *entailen*, from Old French *entaillier* ('to cut, carve'), from *en-* ('in') + *taille* ('a cutting, a tax'), from Latin *talea* ('a cutting, a rod'). Originally referring to the legal restriction of an inheritance.
Originally used in legal contexts to restrict the inheritance of property to a specific line of heirs.
Memory tip
Think of a 'tail' that follows a kite. The kite's actions ENTAIL consequences which follow.