Engage
[ɪn'geɪdʒ;en-] or [ɪn'ɡedʒ]
Definition
(verb.) get caught; 'make sure the gear is engaged'.
(verb.) keep engaged; 'engaged the gears'.
(verb.) hire for work or assistance; 'engage aid, help, services, or support'.
(verb.) ask to represent; of legal counsel; 'I'm retaining a lawyer'.
(verb.) carry on (wars, battles, or campaigns); 'Napoleon and Hitler waged war against all of Europe'.
Typed by Ann--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) 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.
(v. t.) 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.
(v. t.) To gain over; to win and attach; to attract and hold; to draw.
(v. t.) To employ the attention and efforts of; to occupy; to engross; to draw on.
(v. t.) To enter into contest with; to encounter; to bring to conflict.
(v. t.) 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.
(v. i.) To promise or pledge one's self; to enter into an obligation; to become bound; to warrant.
(v. i.) 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.
(v. i.) To enter into conflict; to join battle; as, the armies engaged in a general battle.
(v. i.) To be in gear, as two cogwheels working together.
Edited by Clare
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. [1]. Pledge, commit, promise, bind, put under pledge.[2]. Enlist, induce to serve.[3]. Gain, win, attach, attract, allure, entertain, draw, fix, arrest, gain over.[4]. Occupy, employ, busy, engross.[5]. Attack, encounter, fight with, join battle with.
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.
Editor: Wendell
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Promise, undertake, vouch, employ, occupy, hire, gain, attract, enlist,stipulate, pledge, agree, buy, adopt, involve
ANT:Decline, refuse, withdraw, dismiss, discard, extricate, disengage
Edited by Elvis
Definition
v.t. to bind by a gage or pledge: to render liable: to gain for service: to enlist: to gain over: to betroth: (archit.) to fasten: to win: to occupy: to enter into contest with: (obs.) to entangle.—v.i. to pledge one's word: to become bound: to take a part: to enter into conflict.—p.adj. Engaged′ pledged: promised esp. in marriage: greatly interested: occupied: (archit.) partly built or sunk into or so appearing: geared together interlocked.—n. Engage′ment act of engaging: state of being engaged: that which engages: betrothal: promise: employment: a fight or battle.—p.adj. Engag′ing winning: attractive.—adv. Engag′ingly.—Engage for to answer for.
Inputed by Logan
Examples
- If you would engage a front room and purchase the necessaries for the night, I may have time to make a few inquiries. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- Be cautious then, young ladies; be wary how you engage. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- So I should have done, had I not unfortunately happened to engage Boultby to sup with me on his way home from the Bible Society meeting at Nunnely. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- It would be dishonorable to let others engage themselves to anything serious in dependence on me. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Well, Mr. Snagsby, if I don't lock him up this time, will you engage for his moving on? Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- I must take off myself, I imagine—in short, I engage to do it. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- Engage a special. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- It would be better to have the garrisons engaged there added to Butler's command. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- A hob was the flat part of the open hearth where water and spirits were warmed; and the small table, at which people sat when so engaged, was called a nob. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- The men engaged in the Mexican war were brave, and the officers of the regular army, from highest to lowest, were educated in their profession. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- The troops engaged in them will have to look to the detailed reports of their individual commanders for the full history of those deeds. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- You notice where he is now, and how engaged? Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- I had no idea that Mr. Betteredge was engaged. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- In a sense this is true, for no one is more impatient or intolerant of interruption when deeply engaged in some line of experiment. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- The lady was young, engaging, and handsome, but not marked for long life. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- A fine horse, my friend, said the Count, addressing the groom with the most engaging familiarity of manner, You are going to drive out? Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Ferdinand Barnacle was there, and in his most engaging state. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- Now this won't do, said John, hardening his heart against the engaging little sinner. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- Were he to become a copartner, he would, in engaging in the conjoint activity, have the same interest in its accomplishment which others have. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- There is little evidence of the primitive Aryans engaging in religious dances. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- The engaging young Barnacle was the first arrival; but Bar overtook him on the staircase. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- In following the final assembly line from the point where the chain conveyor engages the frame and axles, the visitor is impressed with the dispatch with which every movement is executed. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Returning now to the fourth pinion, we see that it also carries a wheel, which engages another little pinion, called the escape pinion. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- This screw engages with a second and similar screw which is so arranged as to move the strip of vulcanite up or down. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- This circumstance seems to me remarkable, and engages my attention for a moment. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- He engages, through his imagination, in a shared activity. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- Whatever is important engages our attention, fixes our thought, and is contemplated with satisfaction. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- No sensible man ever engages, unprepared, in a fencing match of words with a woman. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
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