ENGAGE • FREE-TRANSLATOR.COM • Definition of Engage

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/ɛngˈeɪdʒ/ Listen

verb

Engage v. t. (past & past part. engaged; pres. part. engaging)

1.

To put under pledge; to pledge; to place under obligations to do or forbear doing something, as by a pledge, oath, or promise; to bind by contract or promise. "I to thee engaged a prince's word."

2.

To gain for service; to bring in as associate or aid; to enlist; as, to engage friends to aid in a cause; to engage men for service.

3.

To gain over; to win and attach; to attract and hold; to draw. "Good nature engages everybody to him."

4.

To employ the attention and efforts of; to occupy; to engross; to draw on. "Thus shall mankind his guardian care engage." "Taking upon himself the difficult task of engaging him in conversation."

5.

To enter into contest with; to encounter; to bring to conflict. "A favorable opportunity of engaging the enemy."

6.

(Mach.) To come into gear with; as, the teeth of one cogwheel engage those of another, or one part of a clutch engages the other part.

Engage v. i.

1.

To promise or pledge one's self; to enter into an obligation; to become bound; to warrant. "How proper the remedy for the malady, I engage not."

2.

To embark in a business; to take a part; to employ or involve one's self; to devote attention and effort; to enlist; as, to engage in controversy.

3.

To enter into conflict; to join battle; as, the armies engaged in a general battle.

4.

(Mach.) To be in gear, as two cogwheels working together.

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Etymology of 'Engage'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Engage" Quotes from Famous Books

... "if that's all that bothers you, I'll engage to put you back in our Army any time within two years, if ...

— The Colonel of the Red Huzzars • John Reed Scott

... remained closed. Then, too, some of the wall paper which had come away from the plaster hung down in shreds, dead flies were scattered over the parquetry flooring; and in order to open the shutters the waiter had to engage in a perfect fight with their fastenings. However, when he had lighted a little gas-stove, which at once flamed up and diffused some warmth, ...

— The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete - Lourdes, Rome and Paris • Emile Zola

... forty windmills, and as soon as Don Quixote saw them he said to his squire, "Fortune is arranging matters for us better than we could have shaped our desires ourselves, for look there, friend Sancho Panza,[438-1] where thirty or more monstrous giants present themselves, all of whom I mean to engage in battle and slay, and with whose spoils we shall begin to make our fortunes; for this is righteous warfare, and it is God's good service to sweep so evil a breed from off ...

— Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 7 • Charles H. Sylvester

... subcastes such as the Kasaundhans and Kasarwanis, sellers of metal vessels, apparently had originally a somewhat different profession, though resembling the traditional one; but they too, if they once only sold vessels, now engage largely in the traditional Bania's calling, and deal generally in grain and money. The Banias, no doubt because it is both profitable and respectable, adhere more generally to their traditional occupation than almost any great caste, except the cultivators. Mr. Marten's ...

— The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India - Volume II • R. V. Russell

... one moment they succeed and at another fail, make up the general elements of the history of the world. Hence Voltaire was perfectly right when he said that the aim of all war is robbery. That those who engage in it are ashamed of their doings is clear by the fact that governments loudly protest their reluctance to appeal to arms except for purposes of self-defence. Instead of trying to excuse themselves by telling public ...

— The Essays Of Arthur Schopenhauer • Arthur Schopenhauer

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