pawn
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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pawns,
present (3rd person singular)
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pawned,
past participle, past
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pawning
present participle
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to deposit as security, as for money borrowed, especially with a pawnbroker.
He raised the money by pawning his watch.
-
to pawn one's life.
noun
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the state of being deposited or held as security, especially with or by a pawnbroker.
jewels in pawn.
-
something given or deposited as security, as for money borrowed.
- Synonyms:
- pledge
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a person serving as security; hostage.
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the act of pawning.
verb
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to deposit (an article) as security for the repayment of a loan, esp from a pawnbroker
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to stake
to pawn one's honour
noun
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an article deposited as security
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the condition of being so deposited (esp in the phrase in pawn )
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a person or thing that is held as a security, esp a hostage
-
the act of pawning
noun
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P. a chessman of the lowest theoretical value, limited to forward moves of one square at a time with the option of two squares on its initial move: it captures with a diagonal move only Compare piece
-
a person, group, etc, manipulated by another
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pawnsimple
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pawnssimple
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have pawnedperfect
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has pawnedperfect
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am pawningprogressive
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are pawningprogressive
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is pawningprogressive
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have been pawningperfect progressive
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has been pawningperfect progressive
Past
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pawnedsimple
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had pawnedperfect
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was pawningprogressive
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were pawningprogressive
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had been pawningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pawn1
First recorded in 1490–1500; noun from Middle French pan; Old French pan(d), pant, apparently from West Germanic; compare Old Frisian pand, Old Saxon, Middle Dutch pant, German Pfand; verb derivative of the noun
Origin of pawn2
First recorded in 1375–1425; Middle English poun(e), paun, from Anglo-French, equivalent to Middle French poon, variant of paon, earlier pe(h)on “foot soldier,” literally, “walker”; see origin at peon 1
Explanation
To pawn something is to use it as collateral when you're borrowing money. When you pawn a necklace at a pawn shop, you get cash in exchange for it with the understanding that you can buy it back later. The benefit when you pawn something is getting cash immediately. The down side is that you'll have to pay more money — the amount you borrowed, plus interest — to get your item back. If you aren't able to do this, the pawn shop will sell it to someone else. As a noun, a pawn is the smallest, least powerful piece in a game of chess, or a description of a person who's being used or manipulated.
Vocabulary lists containing pawn
Check It Out, Mate: Chess Vocabulary
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They Both Die at the End
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Mockingjay
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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:
Ezcorp boosted its presence in the higher-end market in 2022 by acquiring luxe pawn operator Max Pawn Luxury.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Evgeny agrees to share, but implores Dmitri not to eat it all because he “had to pawn off a bit of mother’s good silver and then wait three hours in line.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
Steve Buscemi and Giancarlo Esposito have supporting turns as, respectively, a pawn shop owner and a cop, and joined Turturro onstage where the super-group of Sundance veterans spoke of their personal affection for Robert Redford.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026
They may turn to pawn transactions and other informal borrowing arrangements.
From Barron's ● Jan. 13, 2026
His face contorted with confusion, and she picked up her pawn, moving it diagonally, and easily knocked over the piece.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
“Those poor girls were pawns in the local political wrangle as much as I was. They were being drained and wrung out and so was I,” Flynn wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Supervisor Kathryn Barger said she wanted to see reforms that would protect both taxpayers and “vulnerable individuals who are being used as pawns to line the pockets of many of these attorneys.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2025
But they insisted, as did their clients, that they were unwitting pawns, proxies – one might even say "drones" – in a shadow war against the West.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2025
For the next several hours, Nick and Honey serve as unwitting pawns in the older couple’s clever, but vicious, mind games.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025
I know he said that we didn’t have to play another game, but I picked up the two pawns, reset them, then made a first move.
From "The Boy in the Black Suit" by Jason Reynolds
She has noted that he is difficult to manage, so I figured she just pawned him off on me now that the company has scaled up.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
She could have pawned or sold things but certain things she kept for herself.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
It was named for Barney Pressman, who in 1923 pawned his wife’s ring, at her encouragement, for $500 to buy the lease of a small store on Seventh Avenue and 17th Street in Manhattan.
From New York Times ● Apr. 22, 2024
Migrants pawned their jewelry to pay for passage or brought their treasure to new lands.
From National Geographic ● Jan. 11, 2024
“Probably Dwight. I think he pawned it. He showed up with a big bag of shit a couple days later. Was in a pretty generous mood too.”
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
She’s hoping to avoid pawning something or paying a bill late.
From Slate ● Apr. 19, 2026
I offended an acolyte who caught me pawning off the dessert basket she brought me to a neighbor, and insulted a coworker who’d gifted me holiday champagne by saying, “Don’t you know I don’t drink?”
From Salon ● Dec. 30, 2023
The Chicago Bears are a mess again, and they are in a rebuild even if they don’t want to admit it, although pawning off Khalil Mack should have been evidence enough.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 19, 2022
As the cost of living rises, a new report suggests people on low incomes are pawning their possessions to pay for everyday essentials.
From BBC ● May 13, 2022
“Four hundred? I spent a year on each one. I’m selling them to you, not pawning them,” Nali said, her voice loud enough that other people in the pawnshop looked over.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
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.
