engage
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to occupy the attention or efforts of (a person or persons).
He engaged her in conversation.
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to secure for aid, employment, use, etc.; hire.
to engage a worker;
to engage a room.
- Antonyms:
- discharge
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to attract and hold fast.
The novel engaged her attention and interest.
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to attract or please.
His good nature engages everyone.
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to bind, as by pledge, promise, contract, or oath; make liable.
He engaged himself to repay his debt within a month.
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to betroth (usually used in the passive).
They were engaged last week.
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to bring (troops) into conflict; enter into conflict with.
Our army engaged the enemy.
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Mechanics. to cause (gears or the like) to become interlocked; interlock with.
- Antonyms:
- release
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to attach or secure.
-
Obsolete. to entangle or involve.
verb (used without object)
-
to occupy oneself; become involved.
to engage in business or politics.
-
to take employment.
She engaged in her mother's business.
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to pledge one's word; assume an obligation.
I was unwilling to engage on such terms.
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to cross weapons; enter into conflict.
The armies engaged early in the morning.
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Mechanics. (of gears or the like) to interlock.
adjective
verb
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to secure the services of; employ
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to secure for use; reserve
engage a room
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to involve (a person or his attention) intensely; engross; occupy
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to attract (the affection) of (a person)
her innocence engaged him
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to draw (somebody) into conversation
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(intr) to take part; participate
he engages in many sports
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to promise (to do something)
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(also intr) military to begin an action with (an enemy)
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to bring (a mechanism) into operation
he engaged the clutch
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(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
adjective
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She doesn’t read school emails or engage in activities she thinks are “overparenting.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026
These objects demand something of the user; and in demanding it, they engage us in a way that feels lost in our era of digital interfaces.
From Slate • Apr. 4, 2026
And because children tend to spend more time outdoors than adults and engage in more physical activity, they may have higher exposure to outdoor air pollution.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
In its willingness to usefully engage with our everyday ugliness, “The Drama” is the boldest mainstream American film in years.
From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026
To suffer her to engage herself—to suffer her even to think of such a measure!”
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
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.
