engage

en·gage  (n-gj)

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 book.

3. To pledge or promise, especially to marry.

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.

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[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.]

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en·gager n.

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engage

Verb

[-gaging, -gaged]

1. Also: (be engaged) (usually foll. by in)to take part or participate: he engaged in criminal and illegal acts, they were engaged in espionage

2. to involve (a person or his or her attention) intensely: there's nothing to engage the intellect in this film

3. to employ (someone) to do something

4. to promise to do something

5. Mil to begin a battle with

6. to bring (part of a machine or other mechanism) into operation, esp. by causing components to interlock

7. engage in conversation to start a conversation with [Old French en- in + gage a pledge]

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	engage - carry out or participate in an activity; be involved in; "She pursued many activities"; "They engaged in a discussion" pursue, prosecute act, move - perform an action, or work out or perform (an action); "think before you act"; "We must move quickly"; "The governor should act on the new energy bill"; "The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel" practice, commit - engage in or perform; "practice safe sex"; "commit a random act of kindness" close - engage at close quarters; "close with the enemy" politick - engage in political activities; "This colleague is always politicking"
	2.	engage - consume all of one's attention or time; "Her interest in butterflies absorbs her completely" engross, occupy, absorb involve - occupy or engage the interest of; "His story completely involved me during the entire afternoon" consume - engage fully; "The effort to pass the exam consumed all his energy" rivet - hold (someone's attention); "The discovery of the skull riveted the paleontologists" interest - excite the curiosity of; engage the interest of
	3.	engage - engage or hire for work; "They hired two new secretaries in the department"; "How many people has she employed?" hire, employ featherbed - hire more workers than are necessary fill - appoint someone to (a position or a job) engage - ask to represent; of legal counsel; "I'm retaining a lawyer" ship - hire for work on a ship sign on, sign up, contract, sign - engage by written agreement; "They signed two new pitchers for the next season" rat - employ scabs or strike breakers in farm out, subcontract, job - arranged for contracted work to be done by others
	4.	engage - ask to represent; of legal counsel; "I'm retaining a lawyer" hire, employ, engage - engage or hire for work; "They hired two new secretaries in the department"; "How many people has she employed?"
	5.	engage - give to in marriage affiance, betroth, plight vow - make a vow; promise; "He vowed never to drink alcohol again"
	6.	engage - get caught; "make sure the gear is engaged" lock - become rigid or immoveable; "The therapist noticed that the patient's knees tended to lock in this exercise" touch - make physical contact with, come in contact with; "Touch the stone for good luck"; "She never touched her husband" disengage - become free; "in neutral, the gears disengage"
	7.	engage - carry on (wars, battles, or campaigns); "Napoleon and Hitler waged war against all of Europe" wage fight, struggle, contend - be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight; "the tribesmen fought each other"; "Siblings are always fighting"; "Militant groups are contending for control of the country" put up, provide, offer - mount or put up; "put up a good fight"; "offer resistance"
	8.	engage - hire for work or assistance; "engage aid, help, services, or support" enlist procure, secure - get by special effort; "He procured extra cigarettes even though they were rationed" recruit - seek to employ; "The lab director recruited an able crew of assistants"
	9.	engage - 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?" charter, hire, rent, lease, take acquire, get - come into the possession of something concrete or abstract; "She got a lot of paintings from her uncle"; "They acquired a new pet"; "Get your results the next day"; "Get permission to take a few days off from work"
	10.	engage - keep engaged; "engaged the gears" mesh, lock, operate flip, switch, throw - cause to go on or to be engaged or set in operation; "switch on the light"; "throw the lever" ride - keep partially engaged by slightly depressing a pedal with the foot; "Don't ride the clutch!" move, displace - cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense; "Move those boxes into the corner, please"; "I'm moving my money to another bank"; "The director moved more responsibilities onto his new assistant" disengage, withdraw - release from something that holds fast, connects, or entangles; "I want to disengage myself from his influence"; "disengage the gears"

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engage

verb 1. participate in, join in, take part in, undertake, practise, embark on, enter into, become involved in, set about, partake of

verb 2. captivate, win, draw, catch, arrest, fix, attract, capture, charm, attach, fascinate, enchant, allure, enamour

verb 3. occupy, involve, draw, busy, grip, absorb, tie up, preoccupy, immerse, engross

verb 4. employ, commission, appoint, take on, hire, retain, recruit, enlist, enrol, put on the payroll << OPPOSITE dismiss

verb 5. book, reserve, secure, hire, rent, charter, lease, prearrange

verb 6. interlock, join, interact, mesh, interconnect, dovetail

verb 7. set going, apply, trigger, activate, switch on, energize, bring into operation

verb 8. Military begin battle with, attack, take on, encounter, combat, fall on, battle with, meet, fight with, assail, face off (slang) wage war on, join battle with, give battle to, come to close quarters with

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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.

Translations

engage [ɪnˈgeɪdʒ] vt [+ attention] → captar;

(in conversation) → abordar [+ worker, lawyer]; contratar

vi (TECH) → engranar;

to engage in → dedicarse a, ocuparse en;

to engage sb in conversation → entablar conversación con algn;

to engage the clutch → embragar

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engage [ɪnˈgeɪdʒ] vt → engager;

(Mil) → engager le combat avec [+ lawyer]; prendre

vi (Tech) → s'enclencher, s'engrener;

to engage in → se lancer dans;

to engage sb in conversation → engager la conversation avec qn

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engage [ɪnˈgeɪdʒ] vt → in Anspruch nehmen;

(employ) → einstellen;

(lawyer) → sich dat nehmen;

(Mil) → angreifen

vi (Tech) → einrasten;

to engage the clutch → einkuppeln;

to engage sb in conversation → jdn in ein Gespräch verwickeln;

to engage in → sich beteiligen an +dat;

to engage in commerce → kaufmännisch tätig sein;

to engage in study → studieren

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engage [ɪnˈgeɪdʒ] vt (= hire) → assumere [+ lawyer]; incaricare [+ attention, interest]; assorbire;

(MIL) → attaccare;

(TECH): to engage gear/the clutch → innestare la marcia/la frizione

vi (TECH) → ingranare;

to engage in → impegnarsi in;

he is engaged in research/a survey → si occupa di ricerca/di un'inchiesta;

to engage sb in conversation → attaccare conversazione con qn