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engage Definition

en·gage (en gāj, in-)

transitive verb -·gaged, -·gag·ing

  1. Obsolete to give or assign as security for a debt, etc.
  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
  3. to arrange for the services of; hire; employ to engage a lawyer
  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.)
  7. to employ or keep busy; occupy reading engages his spare time
  8. to enter into conflict with (the enemy)
    1. to interlock with or cause to come into frictional driving contact with
    2. to mesh together engage the gears
  9. Obsolete to entangle; ensnare

Etymology: ME engagen < OFr engagier: see en- & gage

intransitive verb

  1. to pledge oneself; promise; undertake; agree to engage to do something
  2. to occupy or involve oneself; take part; be active to engage in dramatics
  3. to enter into conflict
  4. to interlock; mesh

engage Synonyms

engage

v.

  1. To hire

    employ, contract, retain, reserve; see hire 1, rent 2.

  2. To engross

    absorb, captivate, bewitch; see fascinate.

  3. To occupy

    keep busy, employ, interest, involve; see occupy 3.

  4. To enter into conflict with

    battle, clash with, assault; see attack 1, fight 2.

  5. To enmesh, especially gears

    interlock, mesh, interlace; see fasten 1, join 1.

engage Usage Examples

Object

  • learner: We are interested to know what motivates and engages adult learners.
  • tudor: Rick tudor engaged of the type observations based on.
  • audience: For me live performance should touch, change, excite or at least engage the audience in some way.
  • enemy: Our countries are no longer mortal enemies engaged in a worldwide Cold War.
  • stakeholder: There is one funding round remaining which will be committed to engaging interested stakeholders, including industry and environmental regulators.
  • viewer: The words delivered engaged the viewer morally, forcing us to face the possibility that he was, indeed, sorry for his crimes.

Subject

auditees: SAI has no role in the appointment of external auditors engaged by the auditees.

Modifying Another Word

actively: However, some drug services may also be actively engaged within these partnerships or their advisory bodies.

Infinitive complement

marry: She was engaged to marry a man named Joseph from the family of David.

Preposition: in

  • dialog: Our paper is engaged in an ongoing dialog with the advanced, organized section of our class in the UK.
  • conversation: I suspect she doesn't want to engage in lengthy conversations about Dan, mind.
  • debate: We are keen to engage in a genuine debate on the issue.
  • activity: There are both costs and benefits to engaging in research activity.
  • battle: Maps scale to the number of players engaging in battle for a unique and intense experience every time.
  • discussion: In 1997, the subject matter; Moser came to our bank to engage in business discussions with our private banking division.

Preposition: with

  • stakeholder: There are effective mechanisms in place to engage with key stakeholders on a regular basis.
  • audience: Jim Dixon: We are seeking to improve the way we engage with audiences and acknowledge that we need to improve on this.
  • community: I advised him to engage with the community in developing any scheme.
  • agenda: However, this will be dependent upon its ability to address its environmental impact and engage with the sustainability agenda.

Preposition: by

auditees: SAI has no role in the appointment of external auditors engaged by the auditees.

Browse dictionary entries near engage

  1. engagé
  2. Engadine
  3. eng
  4. enfranchisement
  5. enfranchise
  6. enforcement
  7. enforced
  8. enforce
  9. enfold
  10. enfleurage
  1. engage in
  2. engaged
  3. engagement
  4. engaging
  5. engarland
  6. Engels
  7. Engels, Friedrich
  8. engender
  9. engin
  10. engine