vow

[vou]

noun

1. a solemn promise, pledge, or personal commitment.

   marriage vows; a vow of secrecy.

2. a solemn promise made to a deity or saint committing oneself to an act, service, or condition.

3. a solemn or earnest declaration.

verb (used with object)

1. to make a vow of; promise by a vow, as to God or a saint.

   to vow a crusade or a pilgrimage.

2. to pledge or resolve solemnly to do, make, give, observe, etc..

   They vowed revenge.

3. to declare solemnly or earnestly; assert emphatically (often followed by a clause as object).

   She vowed that she would take the matter to court.

4. to dedicate or devote by a vow.

   to vow oneself to the service of God.

verb (used without object)

1. to make a vow.

2. to make a solemn or earnest declaration.

vow

/ vaʊ /

noun

1. a solemn or earnest pledge or promise binding the person making it to perform a specified act or behave in a certain way

2. a solemn promise made to a deity or saint, by which the promiser pledges himself to some future act, course of action, or way of life

3. to enter a religious order and commit oneself to its rule of life by the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, which may be taken for a limited period as simple vows or as a perpetual and still more solemn commitment as solemn vows

verb

1. (tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to pledge, promise, or undertake solemnly

   he vowed that he would continue

   he vowed to return

2. (tr) to dedicate or consecrate to God, a deity, or a saint

3. (tr; usually takes a clause as object) to assert or swear emphatically

4. archaic,  (intr) to declare solemnly

Other Word Forms

• vower noun
• vowless adjective
• unvowed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of vow¹

1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French vo ( u ) < Latin vōtum, neuter of vōtus, past participle of vovēre to vow

Word History and Origins

Origin of vow¹

C13: from Old French vou, from Latin vōtum a solemn promise, from vovēre to vow

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. take vows, to enter a religious order or house.

Example Sentences

He vowed to withhold aid from Argentina if this week’s legislative elections didn’t go the way he wanted.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The 34-year-old assemblyman has vowed to lower the city’s cost of living.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Nvidia and Samsung vowed the two companies plan to continue to work together on various advanced memory technologies in addition to chip manufacturing services.

Read more on Barron's

This week, al-Burhan told national TV that the military had withdrawn from the city to spare citizens but vowed to keep fighting the militias.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Last week, Malian Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maïga vowed that “even if we have to seek fuel by foot or by spoon, we will look for it.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• affirm 
• assure 
• declare 
• promise 
• swear