en·gage
(ĕn-gāj′)v. en·gaged, en·gag·ing, en·gag·es
v.tr.1. To obtain or contract for the services of; employ: engage a carpenter.
2. To arrange for the use of; reserve:
engage a room. See Synonyms at
book1.
3. To pledge or promise, especially to marry: was engaged to a famous actor.
4. To attract and hold the attention of; engross: a hobby that engaged her for hours at a time.
5. To win over or attract: His smile engages everyone he meets.
6. To draw into; involve: engage a shy person in conversation.
7. To require the use of; occupy: Studying engages most of my time.
8. To enter or bring into conflict with: We have engaged the enemy.
9. To interlock or cause to interlock; mesh: engage the automobile's clutch.
10. To give or take as security.
v.intr.1. To involve oneself or become occupied; participate: engage in conversation.
2. To assume an obligation; agree.
3. To enter into conflict or battle: The armies engaged at dawn.
4. To become meshed or interlocked: The gears engaged.
[Middle English engagen, to pledge something as security for repayment of debt, from Old French engagier : en-, in; see en-1 + gage, pledge, of Germanic origin.]
en·gag′er n.
en·ga·gé
(ĕn′gä-zhā′)adj. Actively committed, as to a political cause.
[French, past participle of engager, to engage, from Old French engagier, to pledge; see engage.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.