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 goal here has always been to create these immersive universes, to really bring consumers in and engage with Disney characters.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
It is the main way in which people engage with text, photos and videos they see online.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 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
Agility CEO Peggy Johnson recently told MarketWatch that her company sees going public as a way to help it “accelerate” its ability to engage with customers.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
Organizations and researchers have produced countless studies on the arts’ effectiveness and ability to engage children cognitively, emotionally, physically, and artistically: in other words, on a holistic level.
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
This pronouncement has a nicely engagé ring to it—it’s certainly not detached—but it doesn’t entirely convince.
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 10, 2016
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
The younger priest waved his hand to the engagé, yet asked softly: “Monsieur Chevet––he is delayed also?”
From Beyond the Frontier A Romance of Early Days in the Middle West by Randall Parrish
He also has clashed with former MS Now anchor Joy Reid and is engaged in a longstanding feud with NBA star LeBron James.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 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
It has previously said it complies with relevant regulations in the regions where it operates, has never engaged in any trade with Iran and that its suppliers have provided similar assurances.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
The couple made their relationship public two years ago and got engaged in August 2025.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
In the mornings he seemed much engaged with business, and, in the afternoon, gentlemen from Millcote or the neighbourhood called, and sometimes stayed to dine with him.
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
The magazine also featured photographs of Macron engaging in water sports such as foil surfing, during a summer marked by successive heatwaves and deadly fires in France.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Chesney has continuously stressed the importance of engaging different groups, emphasizing the size of UCLA’s alumni base and needing the school’s football team to be present among different communities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
The storytelling by producer-director Thomas Patterson, supported by a cast of experts and an array of film clips and newsreels, is intended to be engaging.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Habitually putting himself in other people’s shoes, he was in his private life charming and engaging, generous and genuinely empathetic.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
