pawn
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
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
-
a person serving as security; hostage.
-
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
-
to stake
to pawn one's honour
noun
-
an article deposited as security
-
the condition of being so deposited (esp in the phrase in pawn )
-
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
-
pawnssimple
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have pawnedperfect
-
has pawnedperfect
-
am pawningprogressive
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are pawningprogressive
-
is pawningprogressive
-
have been pawningperfect progressive
-
has been pawningperfect progressive
Past
-
pawnedsimple
-
had pawnedperfect
-
was pawningprogressive
-
were pawningprogressive
-
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:
“In those three months, pawn loan demand is usually depressed, because that’s when people start getting tax refunds,” said Kyle Joseph, an analyst at financial services firm Stephens.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Across town at an Ezpawn store near the airport, local Nevadans need a $200 pawn loan to pay their bills.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
The early pieces that established his reputation were dioramas of local spots around Grangeville, such as a tattoo parlor, a pawn show and a Dairy Queen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
They may turn to pawn transactions and other informal borrowing arrangements.
From Barron's ● Jan. 13, 2026
He turned a pawn on its side and spun it like he was spinning a quarter.
From "The Boy in the Black Suit" by Jason Reynolds
Our job is to educate those people about how they’re being pushed around like pawns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2026
Through it all, many Greenlanders have felt like pawns in a global game that has upended their politics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026
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
"I just wonder if he sees us all as pawns," the 29-year-old told AFP from his apartment in Queens, New York.
From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2025
Although Bobby’s life now revolved around the Manhattan, there were other pawns to capture.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Gaud comes from Ghuwara, a small town in central India, and her mother once pawned her jewellery to buy one of her first cricket kits.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
I gave him one of my horns, and he pawned it the next day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 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
Maybe Joe had forgotten about it, or maybe he’d stolen it or pawned it—they seemed pretty poor over there.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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
Geoffrey Simmons began pawning his items six years ago "just to fill the freezer".
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2023
His path to the death chamber began in 1999 when, as an 18-year-old, he was jailed on a misdemeanor charge of pawning a rented stereo system.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 5, 2023
“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.
