Pawn
[pɔːn] or [pɔn]
Definition
(noun.) borrowing and leaving an article as security for repayment of the loan.
(noun.) (chess) the least powerful piece; moves only forward and captures only to the side; it can be promoted to a more powerful piece if it reaches the 8th rank.
(noun.) an article deposited as security.
(verb.) leave as a guarantee in return for money; 'pawn your grandfather's gold watch'.
Inputed by Brenda--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) See Pan, the masticatory.
(n.) A man or piece of the lowest rank.
(n.) Anything delivered or deposited as security, as for the payment of money borrowed, or of a debt; a pledge. See Pledge, n., 1.
(n.) State of being pledged; a pledge for the fulfillment of a promise.
(n.) A stake hazarded in a wager.
(v. t.) To give or deposit in pledge, or as security for the payment of money borrowed; to put in pawn; to pledge; as, to pawn one's watch.
(v. t.) To pledge for the fulfillment of a promise; to stake; to risk; to wager; to hazard.
Typist: Willard
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Pledge (of a chattel to secure a debt), gage, security.
v. a. Pledge, offer or give as security.
Checker: Louie
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Pledge, impignorate
ANT:Ransom, redeem
Checked by Barry
Definition
n. something given as security for the repayment of money or the performance of a promise: state of being pledged.—v.t. to give in pledge.—ns. Pawn′broker a broker who lends money on pawns or pledges; Pawn′broking the business of a pawnbroker; Pawnee′ one who takes anything in pawn; Pawn′er one who gives a pawn or pledge as security for money borrowed; Pawn′shop a shop of a pawnbroker; Pawn′ticket a ticket marked with the name of the article the amount advanced &c. delivered to the person who has pawned anything.—At pawn pledged laid away.
n. a gallery.
n. a common piece in chess.
Edited by Erna
Unserious Contents or Definition
v. t., To keep property in the family by leaving it all with your Uncle.
Typist: Ollie
Examples
- Yo' see, Boucher's been pulled down wi' his childer,--and her being so cranky, and a' they could pawn has gone this last twelvemonth. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- He pish'd and psha'd in a fury--told me not to be such a fool as to pawn--and said he would see whether he could lend me the money. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- The pawns were little green and white men, with real swords and shields; the knights were on horseback, the castles were on the backs of elephants. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Tell Sergeant Cuff, he rejoined, that I say the discovery of the truth depends on the discovery of the person who pawned the Diamond. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- She took to drinking, left off working, sold the furniture, pawned the clothes, and played old Gooseberry. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- There was no market for his wares, and after months of actual destitution he pawned the model of his sewing-machine and even his patent papers in order to secure funds to pay his passage home. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- What comes of it doesn't matter to you and me except as it may help us to lay our hands on the mysterious Somebody who pawned the Diamond. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- The man who had pawned his goods in London, and had reached New York with less than a dollar in his pocket, had an income of $200,000 a year. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- There is a chance--to say the least--that the person who pawned it, may be prepared to redeem it when the year's time has expired. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- If you will have it, Rachel--scandal says that the Moonstone is in pledge to Mr. Luker, and that I am the man who has pawned it. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
Edited by Ian