engage
verb (used with object)
to occupy the attention or efforts of (a person or persons).
engage
1 American
[en-geyj]
/ ɛnˈgeɪdʒ /
verb (used with object)
engaged,
engaging
-
to occupy the attention or efforts of (a person or persons).
He engaged her in conversation.
-
to secure for aid, employment, use, etc.; hire.
to engage a worker;
to engage a room.
- Antonyms:
- discharge
-
to attract and hold fast.
The novel engaged her attention and interest.
-
to attract or please.
His good nature engages everyone.
-
to bind, as by pledge, promise, contract, or oath; make liable.
He engaged himself to repay his debt within a month.
-
to betroth (usually used in the passive).
They were engaged last week.
-
to bring (troops) into conflict; enter into conflict with.
Our army engaged the enemy.
-
Mechanics. to cause (gears or the like) to become interlocked; interlock with.
- Antonyms:
- release
-
to attach or secure.
-
Obsolete. to entangle or involve.
verb (used without object)
engaged,
engaging
-
to occupy oneself; become involved.
to engage in business or politics.
-
to take employment.
She engaged in her mother's business.
-
to pledge one's word; assume an obligation.
I was unwilling to engage on such terms.
-
to cross weapons; enter into conflict.
The armies engaged early in the morning.
-
Mechanics. (of gears or the like) to interlock.
engagé
2
American
[ahn -ga -zhey]
/ ɑ̃ gaˈʒeɪ /
adjective
engage
1
British
/ ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ /
verb
-
to secure the services of; employ
-
to secure for use; reserve
engage a room
-
to involve (a person or his attention) intensely; engross; occupy
-
to attract (the affection) of (a person)
her innocence engaged him
-
to draw (somebody) into conversation
-
(intr) to take part; participate
he engages in many sports
-
to promise (to do something)
-
(also intr) military to begin an action with (an enemy)
-
to bring (a mechanism) into operation
he engaged the clutch
-
(also intr) to undergo or cause to undergo interlocking, as of the components of a driving mechanism, such as a gear train
-
machinery to locate (a locking device) in its operative position or to advance (a tool) into a workpiece to commence cutting
engagé
2
British
/ ɑ̃ɡaʒe /
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of engage1
First recorded in 1515–25; from Middle French engager, Old French engagier; see en- 1 ( def. ), gage 1 ( def. )
Origin of engagé2
First recorded in 1950–55; from French: literally, “engaged”
Explanation
Engage means to bind, catch, or involve. If your sink is stopped up, engage, or hire, a plumber to fix it. Otherwise the smell of rotten food in the garbage disposal will engage your attention (in a bad way). Engage comes from a French word for pledge. If you agree to marry your sweetheart, you are engaged to marry. If you engage the kid next door to water your plants, she will expect to be paid for it. Engagement is also used to talk about war or conflict. An army engages its enemy in battle, just as you might engage in debate with a traffic cop over whether the light was yellow or red.
Vocabulary lists containing engage
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Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" (1863)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The science behind the Mediterranean diet is clear, yet it’s hard for many Americans to engage with the Mediterranean diet the way they should.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
The lawsuit claims Polestar ensured its own demise by refusing to engage with regulators or appeal the government decision as Volvo did.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
We are considering these matters carefully and will continue to engage through the appropriate governance structures and channels.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
"They recruited US citizens to engage in sham marriages, arranged sham wedding ceremonies complete with officiants, wedding attire, photographers, and attendees," McDonald said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Perform an energetic rhythm on a drum to engage children to move or prepare for a more rigorous physical transition.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
Though more engagé than restful, Menand’s “The Free World” is comparably diverting, even at the basement level of the weird factoid.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 21, 2021
But as with the title novella, the ironies here are deepened by our foreknowledge of the world that actually awaits the poet: laissez-faire where he wants to be engagé, iron-fisted where he would be free.
From New York Times ● Feb. 16, 2021
We confuse him with the truly engagé Enlightenment and Romantic writers who came long afterward, as they came to confuse his briny Bordeaux with their winey one.
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 8, 2017
The 32-year-old American illustrator is a cross between a photojournalist chasing hot spots and a 19th-century écrivain engagé who champions causes with art.
From Economist ● Jan. 7, 2016
He produced a newly drawn map of the great lake we were to traverse, and the men studied it anxiously 173 while the two priests and the engagé prepared a simple meal.
From Beyond the Frontier A Romance of Early Days in the Middle West by Randall Parrish
Tying that experience to the new “Smugglers Gambit” game in “Fortnite” also can help entice players to become new visitors to the company’s theme parks, as well as keep fans engaged.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
It forces your ankle, knee and hip joints to quickly adjust their movements, keeping them engaged and flexible.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Two funeral parlours were engaged to collect the bodies, the CPU said, as the search continued for any unaccounted people.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
More than 260 people engaged in the program, according to Harrods, of which 100 claims have so far been settled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
“I did not wish to disturb you, as you seemed engaged, sir.”
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
The analysis found that engaging in any physical activity, rather than living a sedentary lifestyle, was particularly associated with slower cognitive decline among Mexican Americans.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
“What we’re seeing is as users are engaging with their vertical video experience, they are actually engaging in the overall product experience, double the amount of time,” she said onstage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
Genco said last month that its advisers were engaging with Diana over its latest acquisition offer, a marked change of tone that suggested a deal could be within reach.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
It states that the four groups have been forced to stop fully engaging with the ICC due to fears of civil or criminal penalties, and of being designated for sanctions themselves.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
In the early Evening, the Firing grew greater, which was General Putnam arrived with Reinforcements & engaging with Parliament’s Schooner.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
