engage

¹

[ en-geyj ]

verb (used with object)

, en·gaged, en·gag·ing.

1. to occupy the attention or efforts of (a person or persons):

   He engaged her in conversation.

   Synonyms: involve, interest, engross, absorb

2. to secure for aid, employment, use, etc.; hire:

   to engage a worker;

   to engage a room.

   Antonyms: discharge

3. to attract and hold fast:

   The novel engaged her attention and interest.

4. to attract or please:

   His good nature engages everyone.

5. to bind, as by pledge, promise, contract, or oath; make liable:

   He engaged himself to repay his debt within a month.

6. to betroth (usually used in the passive):

   They were engaged last week.

7. to bring (troops) into conflict; enter into conflict with:

   Our army engaged the enemy.

8. Mechanics. to cause (gears or the like) to become interlocked; interlock with.

   Antonyms: release

9. to attach or secure.
10. Obsolete. to entangle or involve.

verb (used without object)

, en·gaged, en·gag·ing.

1. to occupy oneself; become involved:

   to engage in business or politics.

2. to take employment:

   She engaged in her mother's business.

3. to pledge one's word; assume an obligation:

   I was unwilling to engage on such terms.

4. to cross weapons; enter into conflict:

   The armies engaged early in the morning.

5. Mechanics. (of gears or the like) to interlock.

engagé

²

[ French ahn-ga-zhey ]

adjective

1. choosing to involve oneself in or commit oneself to something:

   Some of the political activists grew less engagé as the years passed.

engagé

¹

/ ɑ̃ɡaʒe /

adjective

1. (of a writer or artist, esp a man) morally or politically committed to some ideology

engage

²

/ ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ /

verb

1. to secure the services of; employ
2. to secure for use; reserve

   engage a room

3. to involve (a person or his attention) intensely; engross; occupy
4. to attract (the affection) of (a person)

   her innocence engaged him

5. to draw (somebody) into conversation
6. intr to take part; participate

   he engages in many sports

7. to promise (to do something)
8. also intr military to begin an action with (an enemy)
9. to bring (a mechanism) into operation

   he engaged the clutch

10. also intr to undergo or cause to undergo interlocking, as of the components of a driving mechanism, such as a gear train
11. machinery to locate (a locking device) in its operative position or to advance (a tool) into a workpiece to commence cutting

Derived Forms

• enˈgager, noun

Other Words From

• en·gager noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of engage¹

First recorded in 1515–25; from Middle French engager, Old French engagier; en- ¹( def ), gage ¹( def )

Origin of engage²

First recorded in 1950–55; from French: literally, “engaged”

Word History and Origins

Origin of engage¹

C15: from Old French engagier, from en- ¹+ gage a pledge, see gage ¹

Example Sentences

Over time, as you keep noticing the behavior, you may decide not to engage in it.

From Salon

Meanwhile, the Brazilian government has engaged in its own lengthy legal battle in federal court to try to repatriate the gemstone.

From Los Angeles Times

“President Trump campaigned on firing rogue bureaucrats who have engaged in the illegal weaponization of our American justice system, and the American people can expect he will deliver on that promise,” she told the outlet.

From Salon

Combs is charged with leading an enterprise with a persistent pattern of racketeering activity from 2008 to 2024 that included Combs and his co-conspirators engaging in kidnapping, arson, and forced labor.

From Los Angeles Times

Over the course of that relationship their daughter was said to have been “a happy, healthy, engaging and contented child” and there was “absolutely no suggestion of anything other than good parenting”.

From BBC

Related Words

• arrest
• catch
• employ
• fascinate
• immerse
• interest
• involve
• join
• participate
• preoccupy
• undertake