Definition of 'engage'
Word forms: 3rd person singular present tense engages
, present participle engaging
, past tense, past participle engaged
1. verb
If you engage in an activity, you do it or are actively involved with it.
[formal]
2. verb
If something engages you or your attention or interest, it keeps you interested in it and thinking about it.
3. verb
If you engage someone in conversation, you have a conversation with them.
4. verb
5. verb
[formal]
6. verb
When a part of a machine or other mechanism engages or when you engage it, it moves into a position where it fits into something else.
7. verb
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Video: pronunciation of
engage
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
Word Frequency
engage in British English
verb (mainly tr)
5.
to draw (somebody) into conversation
7.
to promise (to do something)
10. (also intr)
to undergo or cause to undergo interlocking, as of the components of a driving mechanism, such as a gear train
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
engager (enˈgager) noun
Word origin
C15: from Old French engagier, from en-1 + gage a pledge, see gage1Word Frequency
engage in American English
verb transitiveWord forms: enˈgaged or enˈgaging
2.
to bind (oneself) by a promise; pledge; specif. (now only in the passive), to bind by a promise of marriage; betroth
he is engaged to Ann
4.
to arrange for the use of; reserve
to engage a hotel room
5.
to draw into; involve
to engage him in conversation
6.
to attract and hold (the attention, etc.)
9.
a.
to interlock with or cause to come into frictional driving contact with
verb intransitive
13.
to enter into conflict
14.
to interlock; mesh
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word Frequency
engagé in American English
(ɑ̃gaˈʒeɪ)
French
adjective
committed to supporting some aim, cause, etc.
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin
Fr
Word Frequency
engage in American English
(enˈɡeidʒ) (verb -gaged, -gaging)
transitive verb
5.
He engaged himself to repay his debt within a month
6.
to betroth (usually used in the passive)
They were engaged last week
8. Mechanics
to cause (gears or the like) to become interlocked; interlock with
9.
to attach or secure
10. obsolete
to entangle or involve
intransitive verb
SYNONYMS 1. absorb, engross, interest, involve.ANTONYMS 2. discharge. 8. release.11.
to occupy oneself; become involved
to engage in business or politics
12.
to take employment
She engaged in her mother's business
15. Mechanics (of gears or the like)
to interlock
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
engager noun
Word Frequency
engagé in American English
(French ɑ̃ːɡaˈʒei)
adjective
choosing to involve oneself in or commit oneself to something
Some of the political activists grew less engagé as the years passed
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word origin
[1950–55; ‹ F: lit., engaged]Word Frequency
engage in Automotive Engineering
(ɪngeɪdʒ)
Word forms: (present) engages, (past) engaged, (perfect) engaged, (progressive) engaging
verb
(Automotive engineering: Vehicle components, Engine, transmission, and exhaust)
If you engage a clutch or a gear, you put the mechanism into operation.
COLLOCATIONS: ~ the clutch
She engaged the clutch and the vehicle started to move away.
Starting up the engine, he engaged first gear and began to turn the car.
The engine should spin at the right speed so that when the clutch is let out to engage the lower gear, there is no jerkiness.
Collins COBUILD Key Words for Automotive Engineering. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Examples of 'engage' in a sentence
engage
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In other languages
engage
British English: engage
VERB /ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ/
to engage in sth If you engage in an activity, you do it or are actively involved with it.
Many of these people engage in criminal activities.
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Definition of engage from the Collins English Dictionary
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