vow
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.
to make a vow of; promise by a vow, as to God or a saint: to vow a crusade or a pilgrimage.
to pledge or resolve solemnly to do, make, give, observe, etc.: They vowed revenge.
to declare solemnly or earnestly; assert emphatically (often followed by a clause as object): She vowed that she would take the matter to court.
to dedicate or devote by a vow: to vow oneself to the service of God.
to make a vow.
to make a solemn or earnest declaration.
Idioms about vow
take vows, to enter a religious order or house.
Origin of vow
1Other words from vow
- vower, noun
- vowless, adjective
- un·vowed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use vow in a sentence
On one of his visits to Moscow he thinks was in 1995 prior to moving there he and Yaroslav exchanged vows that the two considered to be equivalent to a marriage in Pushkinskaya Square, a park-like plaza in downtown Moscow, John told the Blade.
Husband’s tragic death leaves D.C. man to raise 4 young children alone | Lou Chibbaro Jr. | November 11, 2020 | Washington BladeThree years into that vow, with losses still running about $1 million a month, Prospect’s warnings that it wanted to sell or close the hospital spurred state lawmakers to hand the company an “emergency” $15 million grant.
Investors Extracted $400 Million From a Hospital Chain That Sometimes Couldn’t Pay for Medical Supplies or Gas for Ambulances | by Peter Elkind with Doris Burke | September 30, 2020 | ProPublicaPerhaps because we love our children so fiercely, and because we know better now what marriage means, those vows have only grown in significance.
This time, those vows mattered also for two small people who are like our hearts outside our bodies.
Ten years before, when we took our vows the first time, they mattered mostly just to the two of us.
Although the blood-spattered offices will be off-limits, staff have vowed to continue producing the magazine.
She vowed to repay the money—no official word, however, on whether she ever did that.
In fact, I publicly vowed to abstain from The Ball in 2012, but professional responsibilities and curiosity got the better of me.
The Craziest Date Night for Single Jews, Where Mistletoe Is Ditched for Shots | Emily Shire | December 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBohac vowed to that when he came back next year there would be no confusion about any Christmas tree or Santa aprons.
So was the importance of protest itself, which he vowed to protect from the heavy-handed policies employed by his predecessors.
Eric Garner Protesters Have a Direct Line to City Hall | Jacob Siegel | December 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe exile and the maiden, in short, fell in love with each other, and they mutually vowed never to be parted but by force.
The Philippine Islands | John ForemanHe vowed he was taking even better care of himself than usual, but his chest is bad again.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonHow have the contributions of the faithful, for this end, been merely offered to men, but not vowed openly to God?
The Ordinance of Covenanting | John CunninghamAll that God requires of man, and consequently the use of all means appointed for glorifying his name, ought to be vowed.
The Ordinance of Covenanting | John CunninghamWe are warranted to maintain that what was Covenanted before, no less than it should be performed, should be vowed again.
The Ordinance of Covenanting | John Cunningham
British Dictionary definitions for vow
/ (vaʊ) /
a solemn or earnest pledge or promise binding the person making it to perform a specified act or behave in a certain way
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
take vows 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
(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
(tr) to dedicate or consecrate to God, a deity, or a saint
(tr; usually takes a clause as object) to assert or swear emphatically
(intr) archaic to declare solemnly
Origin of vow
1Derived forms of vow
- vower, noun
- vowless, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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