ENGAGE

engage

(verb) get caught; “make sure the gear is engaged”

absorb, engross, engage, occupy

(verb) consume all of one’s attention or time; “Her interest in butterflies absorbs her completely”

betroth, engage, affiance, plight

(verb) give to in marriage

engage, mesh, lock, operate

(verb) keep engaged; “engaged the gears”

lease, rent, hire, charter, engage, take

(verb) 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?”

engage, enlist

(verb) hire for work or assistance; “engage aid, help, services, or support”

prosecute, engage, pursue

(verb) carry out or participate in an activity; be involved in; “She pursued many activities”; “They engaged in a discussion”

engage

(verb) ask to represent; of legal counsel; “I’m retaining a lawyer”

hire, engage, employ

(verb) engage or hire for work; “They hired two new secretaries in the department”; “How many people has she employed?”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

engage (third-person singular simple present engages, present participle engaging, simple past and past participle engaged)

(heading, transitive) To interact socially.

To engross or hold the attention of; to keep busy or occupied.

To draw into conversation.

To attract, to please; (archaic) to fascinate or win over (someone).

(heading) To interact antagonistically.

(transitive) To enter into conflict with (an enemy).

(intransitive) To enter into battle.

(heading) To interact contractually.

(transitive) To arrange to employ or use (a worker, a space, etc.).

(intransitive) To guarantee or promise (to do something).

(transitive) To bind through legal or moral obligation (to do something, especially to marry) (usually in passive).

(obsolete, transitive) To pledge, pawn (one's property); to put (something) at risk or on the line; to mortgage (houses, land).

(heading) To interact mechanically.

To mesh or interlock (of machinery, especially a clutch).

(engineering, transitive) To come into gear with.

(intransitive) To enter into (an activity), to participate (construed with in).

(transitive, obsolete) To entangle.

Antonyms

• (to cause to mesh or interlock): disengage

Source: Wiktionary


En*gage", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Engaged; p. pr. & vb. n. Engaging.] Etym: [F. engager; pref. en- (L. in) + gage pledge, pawn. See Gage.]

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." Shak.

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. Addison.

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

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

6. (Mach.)

Definition: 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.

En*gage", 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. Fuller.

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.)

Definition: To be in gear, as two cogwheels working together.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

28 March 2024

HUDDLED

(adjective) crowded or massed together; “give me...your huddled masses”; “the huddled sheep turned their backs against the wind”


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Coffee Trivia

Espresso is both a coffee beverage and a brewing method that originated in Italy. When making an espresso, a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure forces through finely-ground coffee beans. It has more caffeine per unit volume than most coffee beverages. Its smaller serving size will take three shots to equal a mug of standard brewed coffee.

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