Adjacent Words

Engage definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ENGA'GE, v.t.
1. To make liable for a debt to a creditor; to bind one's self as surety.
2. To pawn; to stake as a pledge.
3. To enlist; to bring into a party; as, to engage men for service; to engage friends to aid in a cause.
4. To embark in an affair; as, be not hasty to engage yourself in party disputes.
5. To gain; to win and attach; to draw to.
Good nature engages every one to its possessor.
To very duty he could minds engage.
6. To unite and bind by contract or promise. Nations engage themselves to each other by treaty. The young often engage themselves to their sorrow.
7. To attract and fix; as, to engage the attention.
8. To occupy; to employ assiduously. We were engaged in conversation. The nation is engaged in war.
9. To attack in contest; to encounter. The army engaged the enemy at ten o'clock. The captain engaged the ship, at point blank distance.
ENGA'GE, v.i. To encounter; to begin to fight; to attack in conflict. The armies engaged at Marengo, in a general battle.
1. To embark in any business; to take a concern in; to undertake. Be cautious not to engage in controversy, without indispensable necessity.
2. To promise or pledge one's word; to bind one's self; as, a friend has engaged to supply the necessary funds.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: carry out or participate in an activity; be involved in; "She pursued many activities"; "They engaged in a discussion" [syn: prosecute, engage, pursue]
2: consume all of one's attention or time; "Her interest in butterflies absorbs her completely" [syn: absorb, engross, engage, occupy]
3: engage or hire for work; "They hired two new secretaries in the department"; "How many people has she employed?" [syn: hire, engage, employ] [ant: can, dismiss, displace, fire, force out, give notice, give the axe, give the sack, sack, send away, terminate]
4: ask to represent; of legal counsel; "I'm retaining a lawyer"
5: give to in marriage [syn: betroth, engage, affiance, plight]
6: get caught; "make sure the gear is engaged" [ant: disengage]
7: carry on (wars, battles, or campaigns); "Napoleon and Hitler waged war against all of Europe" [syn: engage, wage]
8: hire for work or assistance; "engage aid, help, services, or support" [syn: engage, enlist]
9: engage for service under a term of contract; "We took an apartment on a quiet street"; "Let's rent a car"; "Shall we take a guide in Rome?" [syn: lease, rent, hire, charter, engage, take]
10: keep engaged; "engaged the gears" [syn: engage, mesh, lock, operate] [ant: disengage, withdraw]

Merriam Webster's

verb (engaged; engaging) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French engager, from en- + gage pledge, gage Date: 15th century transitive verb 1. to offer (as one's word) as security for a debt or cause 2. a. obsolete to entangle or entrap in or as if in a snare or bog b. to attract and hold by influence or power c. to interlock with ; mesh; also to cause (mechanical parts) to mesh <engage the clutch> 3. to bind (as oneself) to do something; especially to bind by a pledge to marry 4. a. to provide occupation for ; involve <engage him in a new project> b. to arrange to obtain the use or services of ; hire <engage a lawyer> 5. a. to hold the attention of ; engross <her work engages her completely> b. to induce to participate <engaged the shy boy in conversation> 6. a. to enter into contest or battle with <engage the enemy> b. to bring together or interlock (weapons) 7. to deal with especially at length intransitive verb 1. a. to pledge oneself ; promise b. guarantee <he engages for the honesty of his brother> 2. a. to begin and carry on an enterprise or activity <engaged in trade for a number of years> b. to take part ; participate <at college she engaged in gymnastics> c. to give attention to something ; deal <the author's unwillingness to engage with our political system — C. E. Rosenberg> 3. to enter into conflict or battle 4. to come together and interlock (as of machinery parts) ; be or become in gear

U.S. Military Dictionary

(*) 1. In air defense, a fire control order used to direct or authorize units and/or weapon systems to fire on a designated target. See also cease engagement; hold fire. 2. (DOD only) To bring the enemy under fire.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. 1 tr. employ or hire (a person). 2 tr. a (usu. in passive) employ busily; occupy (are you engaged tomorrow?). b hold fast (a person's attention). 3 tr. (usu. in passive) bind by a promise, esp. of marriage. 4 tr. (usu. foll. by to + infin.) bind by a contract. 5 tr. arrange beforehand to occupy (a room, seat, etc.). 6 (usu. foll. by with) Mech. a tr. interlock (parts of a gear etc.); cause (a part) to interlock. b intr. (of a part, gear, etc.) interlock. 7 a intr. (usu. foll. by with) (of troops etc.) come into battle. b tr. bring (troops) into battle. c tr. come into battle with (an enemy etc.). 8 intr. take part (engage in politics). 9 intr. (foll. by that + clause or to + infin.) pledge oneself. 10 tr. (usu. as engaged adj.) Archit. attach (a column) to a wall. 11 tr. (of fencers etc.) interlock (weapons). Derivatives: engager n. Etymology: F engager, rel. to GAGE(1)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Engage En*gage", v. i. 1. To promise or pledge one's self; to enter into an obligation; to become bound; to warrant. How proper the remedy for the malady, I engage not. --Fuller. 2. To embark in a business; to take a part; to employ or involve one's self; to devote attention and effort; to enlist; as, to engage in controversy. 3. To enter into conflict; to join battle; as, the armies engaged in a general battle. 4. (Mach.) To be in gear, as two cogwheels working together.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Engage En*gage", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Engaged; p. pr. & vb. n. Engaging.] [F. engager; pref. en- (L. in) + gage pledge, pawn. See Gage.] 1. To put under pledge; to pledge; to place under obligations to do or forbear doing something, as by a pledge, oath, or promise; to bind by contract or promise. ``I to thee engaged a prince's word.'' --Shak. 2. To gain for service; to bring in as associate or aid; to enlist; as, to engage friends to aid in a cause; to engage men for service. 3. To gain over; to win and attach; to attract and hold; to draw. Good nature engages everybody to him. --Addison. 4. To employ the attention and efforts of; to occupy; to engross; to draw on. Thus shall mankind his guardian care engage. --Pope. Taking upon himself the difficult task of engaging him in conversation. --Hawthorne. 5. To enter into contest with; to encounter; to bring to conflict. A favorable opportunity of engaging the enemy. --Ludlow. 6. (Mach.) To come into gear with; as, the teeth of one cogwheel engage those of another, or one part of a clutch engages the other part.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(engages, engaging, engaged) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you engage in an activity, you do it or are actively involved with it. (FORMAL) I have never engaged in the drug trade... VERB: V in n 2. If something engages you or your attention or interest, it keeps you interested in it and thinking about it. They never learned skills to engage the attention of the others. VERB: V n 3. If you engage someone in conversation, you have a conversation with them. They tried to engage him in conversation... VERB: V n in n 4. If you engage with something or with a group of people, you get involved with that thing or group and feel that you are connected with it or have real contact with it. She found it hard to engage with office life... VERB: V with n • engagement And she, too, suffers from a lack of critical engagement with the literary texts. N-UNCOUNT: usu N with n 5. If you engage someone to do a particular job, you appoint them to do it. (FORMAL) We engaged the services of a recognised engineer... VERB: V n 6. When a part of a machine or other mechanism engages or when you engage it, it moves into a position where it fits into something else. Press the lever until you hear the catch engage. ...a lesson in how to engage the four-wheel drive. VERB: V, V n 7. When a military force engages the enemy, it attacks them and starts a battle. It could engage the enemy beyond the range of hostile torpedoes. VERB: V n 8. see also engaged, engaging

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

en-gaj':

From `arabh, "to pledge," Jer 30:21, the King James Version "Who is this that engaged his heart?"; the Revised Version (British and American) "he that hath had boldness?"; the Revised Version, margin Hebrew "hath been surety for his heart?"

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Pledge, commit, promise, bind, put under pledge. 2. Plight, affiance, betroth, promise or pledge in marriage. 3. Enlist, induce to serve. 4. Gain, win, attach, attract, allure, entertain, draw, fix, arrest, gain over. 5. Occupy, employ, busy, engross. 6. Attack, encounter, fight with, join battle with. II. v. n. 1. Fight, combat, contend, struggle, contest, join battle. 2. Embark, enlist, take the first step. 3. Promise, agree, stipulate, bargain, undertake, pledge one's word, plight one's word, pass one's word, pledge one's self, become bound, be sworn, take upon one's self.

Moby Thesaurus

absorb, absorb the attention, accept obligation, affiance, agree, agree to, answer for, appeal, approach, arrest, assault, assay, attack, attempt, attend to business, attract, bargain, bargain for, battle, be answerable for, be attractive, be responsible for, be security for, beckon, become engaged, bespeak, betroth, bind, book, brief, bring, busy, captivate, capture, carry, catch, catch up in, chance, charm, clash with, coact, combat, commit, compact, concern, contract, contract an engagement, contract for, cooperate, covenant, decide, determine, devote, dispose, do a deal, do battle, dovetail, draw, draw in, embark on, embarrass, employ, enchant, encounter, engage in, engage in battle, engage the attention, engage the mind, engage the thoughts, engross, engross the mind, engross the thoughts, enlist, enmesh, entangle, enter into, enthrall, essay, exercise, face, fascinate, fetch, fight, get to do, give battle, go bail for, grab, grapple with, grip, guarantee, have an understanding, hire, hold, hold spellbound, hold the interest, hypnotize, imbue, immerse, implicate, incline, indenture, induce, influence, interact, interchange, interest, interest in, interlace, interlock, intermesh, interplay, intertwine, interweave, interwork, invite, involve, involve the interest, join battle, join battle with, join issue, lead, lift a finger, lure, make a deal, make an attempt, make an effort, meet, mesh, mesmerize, mind the store, monopolize, mortise, obligate, obsess, occupy, occupy the attention, offer, partake in, participate in, pass, pass the time, pledge, plight, preengage, preoccupy, procure, promise, prompt, publish the banns, put on, recruit, rent, reserve, retain, secure, shake hands on, sign on, sign up, sign up for, soak, spellbind, spend, spend the time, stipulate, strike, suck into, summon, sway, take into employment, take on, take part in, take the vows, take up, tangle, tantalize, tease, tempt, tickle, tie, tie up, titillate, troth, try, try conclusions, undertake, venture, venture on, venture upon, whet the appetite