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
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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
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
“Everyone thinks of pawn as the lowest end of the credit spectrum, but I think they are sort of capitalizing on the K-shaped economy,” said Stephens’s Joseph.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
"Magyar will want, as he did during the campaign, not to be caricatured as being a pawn of Brussels; do not expect him to say yes to everything," said an EU diplomat.
From Barron's ● Apr. 13, 2026
Mercader seduced Ageloff, who would become an unwitting pawn in the murder of one of her heroes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
“I cringed at being a sacrificial pawn in their game of relationship chess,” Davis writes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2026
The Nazis are manoeuvring him like a pawn.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
Players roll a dice to move their pawns across the board, with each landing spot corresponding to cards containing questions or instructions to act out disaster-specific responses.
From Barron's ● Dec. 29, 2025
But many American farmers are still feeling like pawns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025
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
Although Bobby’s life now revolved around the Manhattan, there were other pawns to capture.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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
Kilroe, being the veteran executive he was, did the obvious: He pawned the request onto someone else.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2025
To raise the funds, police said, some pawned their family assets while others borrowed the money from the employers.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2024
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
My mom could’ve pawned it by now and taken care of bills, filled our fridge, but she entrusted it to me.
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
She’s hoping to avoid pawning something or paying a bill late.
From Slate ● Apr. 19, 2026
Geoffrey Simmons began pawning his items six years ago "just to fill the freezer".
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2023
Take this comment he makes in “Baby J” after a bit he tells about pawning a watch.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 26, 2023
His family did everything they could think of to catch up: pawning possessions, accumulating vast bank overdraft fees, borrowing money and applying for energy assistance.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 7, 2022
I forgave them for pawning my Nintendo, TV, and VCR.
From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers
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.
