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• engage
  engage

  verb (used with object)

  to occupy the attention or efforts of (a person or persons).
• engagé
  engagé

  adjective

  choosing to involve oneself in or commit oneself to something.

engage

¹ American  

[en-geyj] / ɛnˈgeɪdʒ /

verb (used with object)

engaged, engaging

1. to occupy the attention or efforts of (a person or persons).

   He engaged her in conversation.

   Synonyms:

   involve, interest, engross, absorb

2. to secure for aid, employment, use, etc.; hire.

   to engage a worker;

   to engage a room.

   Antonyms:

   discharge

3. to attract and hold fast.

   The novel engaged her attention and interest.

4. to attract or please.

   His good nature engages everyone.

5. to bind, as by pledge, promise, contract, or oath; make liable.

   He engaged himself to repay his debt within a month.

6. to betroth (usually used in the passive).

   They were engaged last week.

7. to bring (troops) into conflict; enter into conflict with.

   Our army engaged the enemy.

8. Mechanics. to cause (gears or the like) to become interlocked; interlock with.

   Antonyms:

   release

9. to attach or secure.

10. Obsolete. to entangle or involve.

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verb (used without object)

engaged, engaging

1. to occupy oneself; become involved.

   to engage in business or politics.

2. to take employment.

   She engaged in her mother's business.

3. to pledge one's word; assume an obligation.

   I was unwilling to engage on such terms.

4. to cross weapons; enter into conflict.

   The armies engaged early in the morning.

5. Mechanics. (of gears or the like) to interlock.

engagé ² American  

[ahn-ga-zhey] / ɑ̃ gaˈʒeɪ /

adjective

1. choosing to involve oneself in or commit oneself to something.

   Some of the political activists grew less engagé as the years passed.

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engage ¹ British  

/ ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ /

verb

1. to secure the services of; employ

2. to secure for use; reserve

   engage a room

3. to involve (a person or his attention) intensely; engross; occupy

4. to attract (the affection) of (a person)

   her innocence engaged him

5. to draw (somebody) into conversation

6. (intr) to take part; participate

   he engages in many sports

7. to promise (to do something)

8. (also intr) military to begin an action with (an enemy)

9. to bring (a mechanism) into operation

   he engaged the clutch

10. (also intr) to undergo or cause to undergo interlocking, as of the components of a driving mechanism, such as a gear train

11. machinery to locate (a locking device) in its operative position or to advance (a tool) into a workpiece to commence cutting

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engagé ² British  

/ ɑ̃ɡaʒe /

adjective

1. (of a writer or artist, esp a man) morally or politically committed to some ideology

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Other Word Forms

• engager
  noun

Etymology

Origin of engage¹

First recorded in 1515–25; from Middle French engager, Old French engagier; see en- ¹ ( def. ), gage ¹ ( def. )

Origin of engagé²

First recorded in 1950–55; from French: literally, “engaged”

Explanation

Engage means to bind, catch, or involve. If your sink is stopped up, engage, or hire, a plumber to fix it. Otherwise the smell of rotten food in the garbage disposal will engage your attention (in a bad way). Engage comes from a French word for pledge. If you agree to marry your sweetheart, you are engaged to marry. If you engage the kid next door to water your plants, she will expect to be paid for it. Engagement is also used to talk about war or conflict. An army engages its enemy in battle, just as you might engage in debate with a traffic cop over whether the light was yellow or red.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

engage engagé engaged engaging

The science behind the Mediterranean diet is clear, yet it’s hard for many Americans to engage with the Mediterranean diet the way they should.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026

The lawsuit claims Polestar ensured its own demise by refusing to engage with regulators or appeal the government decision as Volvo did.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

"They recruited US citizens to engage in sham marriages, arranged sham wedding ceremonies complete with officiants, wedding attire, photographers, and attendees," McDonald said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

Executive producer Conrad Green says the team behind the show always wanted to engage with a younger audience, but also recognized you can’t always force it without turning off your base.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

“She does want to have your son referred to our community justice center and to have him engage in a restorative justice process. However, your son has to agree to participate.”

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

Though more engagé than restful, Menand’s “The Free World” is comparably diverting, even at the basement level of the weird factoid.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 21, 2021

But as with the title novella, the ironies here are deepened by our foreknowledge of the world that actually awaits the poet: laissez-faire where he wants to be engagé, iron-fisted where he would be free.

From New York Times ● Feb. 16, 2021

We confuse him with the truly engagé Enlightenment and Romantic writers who came long afterward, as they came to confuse his briny Bordeaux with their winey one.

From The New Yorker ● Jan. 8, 2017

The 32-year-old American illustrator is a cross between a photojournalist chasing hot spots and a 19th-century écrivain engagé who champions causes with art.

From Economist ● Jan. 7, 2016

The family stripped him of his uniform and arrayed him in a suit of deer-skin, with belt, moccasins, and pipe, like a French engagé.

From Wau-bun The Early Day in the Northwest by Juliette Augusta Magill Kinzie

He also has clashed with former MS Now anchor Joy Reid and is engaged in a longstanding feud with NBA star LeBron James.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

It forces your ankle, knee and hip joints to quickly adjust their movements, keeping them engaged and flexible.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

The couple made their relationship public two years ago and got engaged in August 2025.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

Gallup estimates that workers who aren’t engaged or actively disengaged account for about $1.9 trillion in lost productivity nationally.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

In the mornings he seemed much engaged with business, and, in the afternoon, gentlemen from Millcote or the neighbourhood called, and sometimes stayed to dine with him.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

The analysis found that engaging in any physical activity, rather than living a sedentary lifestyle, was particularly associated with slower cognitive decline among Mexican Americans.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

Chesney has continuously stressed the importance of engaging different groups, emphasizing the size of UCLA’s alumni base and needing the school’s football team to be present among different communities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

The storytelling by producer-director Thomas Patterson, supported by a cast of experts and an array of film clips and newsreels, is intended to be engaging.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

It states that the four groups have been forced to stop fully engaging with the ICC due to fears of civil or criminal penalties, and of being designated for sanctions themselves.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

Fanny Owen was petite and darkhaired; she was engaging, flirtatious, passionate, and maybe a bit wild.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman

Related Words

• arrest
• catch
• employ
• fascinate
• immerse
• interest
• involve
• join
• participate
• preoccupy
• undertake