promise
Americannoun
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promises
plural
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a declaration that something will or will not be done, given, etc., by one.
unkept political promises.
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an express assurance on which expectation is to be based.
promises that an enemy will not win.
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something that has the effect of an express assurance; indication of what may be expected.
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indication of future excellence or achievement.
a writer who shows promise.
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something that is promised.
verb (used with object)
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promises,
present (3rd person singular)
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promised,
past participle, past
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promising
present participle
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to engage or undertake by promise (usually used with an infinitive or a clause as object).
She promised to go tomorrow.
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to make a promise of (some specified act, gift, etc.).
to promise help.
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to make a promise of something to (a specified person).
Promise me that you will come.
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to afford ground for expecting.
The sky promised a storm.
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to engage to join in marriage.
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to assure (used in emphatic declarations).
I won't go there again, I promise you that!
verb (used without object)
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promises,
present (3rd person singular)
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promised,
past participle, past
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promising
present participle
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to afford ground for expectation (often followed by well orfair ).
His forthcoming novel promises well.
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to make a promise.
verb
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to give an assurance of (something to someone); undertake (to do something) in the future
I promise that I will come
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(tr) to undertake to give (something to someone)
he promised me a car for my birthday
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(when tr, takes an infinitive) to cause one to expect that in the future one is likely (to be or do something)
she promises to be a fine soprano
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(usually passive) to engage to be married; betroth
I'm promised to Bill
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(tr) to assure (someone) of the authenticity or inevitability of something (often in the parenthetic phrase I promise you, used to emphasize a statement)
there'll be trouble, I promise you
noun
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an undertaking or assurance given by one person to another agreeing or guaranteeing to do or give something, or not to do or give something, in the future
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indication of forthcoming excellence or goodness
a writer showing considerable promise
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the thing of which an assurance is given
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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prepromisenoun
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promisernoun
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repromiseverb
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outpromiseverb (used with object)
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overpromiseverb (used with object)
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promisableadjective
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promisefuladjective
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quasi-promisedadjective
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unpromisedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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promisesimple
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promisessimple
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have promisedperfect
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has promisedperfect
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am promisingprogressive
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are promisingprogressive
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is promisingprogressive
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have been promisingperfect progressive
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has been promisingperfect progressive
Past
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promisedsimple
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had promisedperfect
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was promisingprogressive
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were promisingprogressive
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had been promisingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of promise
First recorded in 1375–1425; (noun) late Middle English promis(se), from Medieval Latin prōmissa, from Latin prōmissum, noun use of neuter past participle of prōmittere “to promise,” literally, “to send forth,” equivalent to prō- pro- 1 + mittere “to send”; (verb) late Middle English promisen, derivative of the noun
Explanation
A promise is an agreement to do or not do something. Also, when you have potential, you show promise. If your parents say you can go for ice cream and then it doesn't happen, you'll probably say, "But you promised!" People promise small things, like to visit someone, and big things, like marriage: “Til death do us part” is a promise many people make on their wedding day. Another meaning is to make a prediction, as in, "You'll regret this, I promise!” Also, if you show promise playing the violin, maybe someday you'll play in an orchestra.
Vocabulary lists containing promise
"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act I
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Send a Message: Mit and Miss
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Beowulf vocabulary
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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:
"This is a significant milestone for AI research, and its promise for the world is that even more of our hardest questions would become possible to answer," Mark Chen, OpenAI's chief research officer, told reporters.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
The following day, Hilton said he was skeptical of Becerra’s promise.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Once Tirana’s mayor, he became prime minister in 2013, after a campaign that ran on the promise of an “Albanian renaissance.”
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
Plus a promise to make Germans feel proud of their country again.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
So I silently make my promise to Hannie.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
Endless construction projects are pitched, plumped up with promises of jobs and money for the local economy.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
Next week’s event promises to be flashy — and different from the ones of years past.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026
The trailer alone promises a scene-chewing buffet served by a cast stacked with British TV favorites, including “Ted Lasso” alumnus Nick Mohammed.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026
Nearly 60 years later, Steinem broke one of those promises, when she dedicated her memoir, My Life On The Road, to Dr John Sharpe.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
It meant he had learned to keep promises.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
“We promised AI can do that. And they’re like, ‘We get it, except it’s not happening, help us make it happen.’”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
As we drove down to Orikum, a beach town south of Vlore, Aulon spoke at length about the other times they’ve been promised benefits from luxury tourist resorts that never materialized.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
AI, which was once promised as a tool to eliminate drudgery, has complicated daily life in myriad ways.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
During the 2026 election campaign Plaid Cymru promised that renewable energy projects would need to offer local communities a part of their profits if they were approved by a Plaid-led Welsh government.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
Mimi promised, so I handed her the ticket stub.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
"The findings add to growing evidence that GLP-1 receptor agonists may have benefits beyond diabetes and obesity treatment, and could represent a promising new avenue for bipolar research."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 8, 2026
This year, he landed a job with a more promising career outlook, managing client accounts at a fintech company.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
True Ventures’ ninth fund focuses on early-stage deals, while its Select strategy is earmarked for follow-on investments in the firm’s most promising early-stage portfolio companies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
He refused to comment on any decisions about tax, promising only to "balance the books" and "control public spending".
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Since Elizebeth was tired of people talking about her looks, this wasn’t a promising start, but the interview got better from there.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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.
