engage

¹ American  

[en-geyj] / ɛnˈgeɪdʒ /

verb (used with object)

engaged, engaging

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.

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verb (used without object)

engaged, engaging

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 American  

[ahn-ga-zhey] / ɑ̃ gaˈʒeɪ /

adjective

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

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

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engage ¹ British  

/ 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

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engagé ² British  

/ ɑ̃ɡaʒe /

adjective

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

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Other Word Forms

• engager noun

Etymology

Origin of engage¹

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

Origin of engagé²

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

Example Sentences

She said she had engaged lawyers in the UK and Bangladesh.

From BBC

The Florida meeting was the latest step in weeks of intense "shuttle diplomacy" which saw Ukrainian and Russian delegations separately engage with US officials to discuss a peace plan.

From BBC

Despite an initial refusal to engage in the conversation with a specialist nurse, his mother, Nadine, recalled how he had previously discussed organ donation while applying for a motorcycle licence.

From BBC

Mr. Stoppard insisted, through his works, that theater could and should engage with ideas, with philosophy, with the vast knowledge amassed by writers and thinkers of many ages.

From The Wall Street Journal

So the two “football meatheads or football nerds” who “think about the game in a very intricate way” could engage in shop talk.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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