engagement
Americannoun
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engagements
plural
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the act of engaging or the state of being engaged; involvement: The website failed because of weak visitor engagement.
Voter engagement and turnout were high.
The website failed because of weak visitor engagement.
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an appointment or arrangement.
a business engagement.
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betrothal.
They announced their engagement.
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a pledge; an obligation or agreement.
All his time seems to be taken up with social engagements.
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employment, or a period or post of employment, especially in the performing arts.
Her engagement at the nightclub will last five weeks.
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an encounter, conflict, or battle.
We have had two very costly engagements with the enemy this week alone.
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Mechanics. the act or state of interlocking.
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Commerce. engagements, financial obligations.
noun
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a pledge of marriage; betrothal
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an appointment or arrangement, esp for business or social purposes
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the act of engaging or condition of being engaged
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a promise, obligation, or other condition that binds
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a period of employment, esp a limited period
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an action; battle
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(plural) financial obligations
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of engagement
Explanation
If you are a musician or performer and you arrange for a performance, then you have booked an engagement. You might stand in line for tickets when your favorite comedian books an engagement at the local theater. An engagement can also be a general appointment. A previous engagement is the perfect excuse not to go to the opera with your grandmother. An engagement also means an agreement to get married. The news of your engagement might please everyone you know except your fiancé's ex-girlfriend. A military engagement is a hostile meeting of military forces on opposing sides of a conflict.
Vocabulary lists containing engagement
Bud, Not Buddy
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Richard Nixon's "Checkers" Speech (1952)
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 4
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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:
Moreover, the act provides that Congress can force termination of American engagement at any time by concurrent resolution of both houses.
From Slate ● Nov. 10, 2026
“We want engagement on some node of our platform to be a daily habit,” said Schiffman.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026
The UK has a longstanding policy not to have direct, bilateral engagement with Russian ministers since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
Their purpose is to hash out guidelines for areas including energy and infrastructure, water and natural resources, community engagement, economic and community value, transparency and accountability, and implementation.
From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026
In 1989, when I was one year old, Uncle John came to Dowa for a friend’s engagement party and stopped by for a visit.
From "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" by William Kamkwamba
The play, by Danny Robins, had an impressive seven London engagements.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
Over the past two quarters, the company has seen customers scale up from pilot engagements to larger deals, Taylor said.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
During the Cold War, the U.S. secured key interests in the region without prolonged military engagements.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
In hot and humid conditions, he will soon celebrate his 78th birthday and will have carried out about 36 engagements by the end of this nine-day tour of the Caribbean.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
I was training, competing, and showing up for speaking engagements.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
