vow
Americannoun
-
vows
plural
-
a solemn promise, pledge, or personal commitment.
marriage vows; a vow of secrecy.
-
a solemn promise made to a deity or saint committing oneself to an act, service, or condition.
-
a solemn or earnest declaration.
verb (used with object)
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vows,
present (3rd person singular)
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vowed,
past participle, past
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vowing
present participle
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to make a vow of; promise by a vow, as to God or a saint.
to vow a crusade or a pilgrimage.
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to pledge or resolve solemnly to do, make, give, observe, etc..
They vowed revenge.
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to declare solemnly or earnestly; assert emphatically (often followed by a clause as object).
She vowed that she would take the matter to court.
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to dedicate or devote by a vow.
to vow oneself to the service of God.
verb (used without object)
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vows,
present (3rd person singular)
-
vowed,
past participle, past
-
vowing
present participle
-
to make a vow.
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to make a solemn or earnest declaration.
idioms
noun
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a solemn or earnest pledge or promise binding the person making it to perform a specified act or behave in a certain way
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a solemn promise made to a deity or saint, by which the promiser pledges himself to some future act, course of action, or way of life
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to enter a religious order and commit oneself to its rule of life by the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, which may be taken for a limited period as simple vows or as a perpetual and still more solemn commitment as solemn vows
verb
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(tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to pledge, promise, or undertake solemnly
he vowed that he would continue
he vowed to return
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(tr) to dedicate or consecrate to God, a deity, or a saint
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(tr; usually takes a clause as object) to assert or swear emphatically
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archaic (intr) to declare solemnly
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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vowsimple
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vowssimple
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have vowedperfect
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has vowedperfect
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am vowingprogressive
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are vowingprogressive
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is vowingprogressive
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have been vowingperfect progressive
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has been vowingperfect progressive
Past
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vowedsimple
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had vowedperfect
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was vowingprogressive
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were vowingprogressive
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had been vowingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of vow
1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French vo ( u ) < Latin vōtum, neuter of vōtus, past participle of vovēre to vow
Explanation
To vow is to make an earnest promise or pledge. People getting married often vow to stick together “till death do us part,” while a presidential candidate might vow to lower taxes. You can use vow as both a noun and a verb: A vow is a solemn declaration; to vow is the act of making that promise. Vows are meant to be serious, sacred things, even vows made with the best intentions can be broken. Wrote American short-story writer and poet Dorothy Parker, “By the time you swear you are his, shivering and sighing, And he vows his passion is infinite and undying—Lady, make a note of this: One of you is lying.”
Vocabulary lists containing vow
Beowulf vocabulary
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Mardi Gras: Faith
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The Lemonade War
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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:
If you have $35,000 in credit-card debt, not only should you cut up your cards, you should take the pieces and burn them on a pyre and vow never to make this mistake again.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
Warsh, in prepared remarks released Tuesday, is set to vow that the central bank will rid the United States of the years-long "inflation surge."
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
They vow to quit drinking, study harder, become better spouses or otherwise remake their lives if “El Tri” can deliver victory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
Andy Burnham's expected vow to "lift Britain back up" comes with what The i Paper calls the "biggest ever power transfer."
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
“Yes,” agreed Brother Luke, “but when it is read to thee, ’twill not sound like poetry, I’ll vow.
From "The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli
The ceremony, per tabloid reporting, was interminable, with both bride and groom delivering a 20-minute set of vows.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
Roberts said the couple "wrote their own vows," and Stephanopoulos talked about Swift and Kelce having "little books" with them, as comedian Adam Sandler officiated.
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
An exchange of vows at a historic villa on Lake Como.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
Ceremonial organ music played, the ordination vows were taken, of course, in Latin.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
He also spoke his vows with evident faith, and Horatio was our witness.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Warsh has vowed to reduce inflation, but so far he’s resisted a rate hike.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
Former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina has vowed to return to her country in December, despite facing the death penalty there for crimes against humanity.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
El-Sayed vowed to unite Democrats around defeating Rogers, who previously served seven terms in Congress, saying that he and Stevens would be focused on “bringing the party back together.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Nudelman and her colleagues reported the incident to the head of the yeshiva, who vowed to take action.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
She had vowed to Mr. Carter for decades that she wouldn't die until he came home from prison.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
While preparing for the country’s planned celebration of its 250th birthday, Trump decided to do a little housecleaning and update the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, vowing to make it better than ever.
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026
Peru's conservative President Keiko Fujimori took office on Tuesday, vowing to tackle the wave of crime sweeping the Andean nation.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the incident in Tal by vowing to take "powerful action".
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
When Dornan ran again in 1998, with volunteers vowing to pursue any election irregularities, Sanchez walloped him, and he was swept into the dustbin of political history.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
But I do remember vowing in the wagon on the way home that I would never do it again.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
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.
