Pledge of Allegiance

American  

noun

1. a solemn oath of allegiance or fidelity to the U.S., beginning, “I pledge allegiance to the flag,” and forming part of many flag-saluting ceremonies in the U.S.

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Pledge of Allegiance Cultural  

1. Also called the “Pledge to the Flag.” The American patriotic vow, which is often recited at formal government ceremonies, including Independence Day ceremonies for new citizens: “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

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The phrase under God, added in 1954 (more than sixty years after the pledge was originally published), has inspired heated debate over the separation of church and state.

Example Sentences

The pledge of allegiance from Taipei on Tuesday contrasted with shifting winds in the West, where U.S. tariffs and other threats have nudged partners to seek alternatives.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026

Too-cool-for-school upper-class students at Santa Monica High scoffed when administrators in 2002 reinstated a daily recitation of the pledge of allegiance.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 11, 2024

There are crowns and diamonds, soaring music and, perhaps, a thunderous pledge of allegiance from Charles’ subjects around the country.

From Seattle Times • May 5, 2023

Take the “under God” part of the pledge of allegiance, for example.

From Slate • Feb. 2, 2023

My pledge of allegiance, I call it, to all that is missing.

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez