Link Centre Dictionary

engage

en·gage

UK/ɪnˈɡeɪd͡ʒ/ US/ɛnˈɡeɪd͡ʒ/ fairly common

verb

1.

carry out or participate in an activity; be involved in

  • “She pursued many activities”
  • “They engaged in a discussion”
Synonyms
2.

engage or engross wholly

  • “Her interest in butterflies absorbs her completely”
Synonyms
3.

engage or hire for work

  • “They hired two new secretaries in the department”
  • “How many people has she employed?”
Synonyms
Antonyms
4.

ask to represent; of legal counsel

  • “I”
5.
6.

get caught

  • “make sure the gear is engaged”
Antonyms
7.

as of wars, battles, or campaigns

  • “Napoleon and Hitler waged war against all of Europe”
Synonyms
8.

as of aid, help, services, or support

Synonyms
9.

engage for service under a term of contract

  • “We took an apartment on a quiet street”
  • “Let”
  • “;”
Synonyms
10.

keep engaged

  • “engaged the gears”
Synonyms
Antonyms

Origin

From Middle English engagen, from Old French engagier (“to pledge, engage”), from Old French en- (“in, under”) + gage (“pledge”), from Frankish *wadi (“pledge”), from Proto-Germanic *wadją (“pledge, guarantee”), from Proto-Indo-European *wedʰ- (“to pledge, redeem a pledge; guarantee, bail”), equivalent to en- + gage. Cognate with Old English weddian (“to engage, covenant, undertake”), German wetten (“to bet, wager”), Icelandic veðja (“to wager”). More at wed.

Phrases

  • engage in

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.