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definitions

vow

[vou]
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noun
  1. a solemn promise, pledge, or personal commitment: marriage vows; a vow of secrecy.
  2. a solemn promise made to a deity or saint committing oneself to an act, service, or condition.
  3. a solemn or earnest declaration.
verb (used with object)
  1. to make a vow of; promise by a vow, as to God or a saint: to vow a crusade or a pilgrimage.
  2. to pledge or resolve solemnly to do, make, give, observe, etc.: They vowed revenge.
  3. to declare solemnly or earnestly; assert emphatically (often followed by a clause as object): She vowed that she would take the matter to court.
  4. to dedicate or devote by a vow: to vow oneself to the service of God.
verb (used without object)
  1. to make a vow.
  2. to make a solemn or earnest declaration.
Idioms
  1. take vows, to enter a religious order or house.

Origin of vow

1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French vo(u) < Latin vōtum, neuter of vōtus, past participle of vovēre to vow
Related formsvow·er, nounvow·less, adjectiveun·vowed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for vowed

assure, swear, promise, declare, affirm, covenant, pledge, devote, dedicate, testify, vouch, consecrate, plight, warrant

Examples from the Web for vowed

Contemporary Examples of vowed

Historical Examples of vowed

British Dictionary definitions for vowed

vow

noun
  1. a solemn or earnest pledge or promise binding the person making it to perform a specified act or behave in a certain way
  2. 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
  3. 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
verb
  1. (tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to pledge, promise, or undertake solemnlyhe vowed that he would continue; he vowed to return
  2. (tr) to dedicate or consecrate to God, a deity, or a saint
  3. (tr; usually takes a clause as object) to assert or swear emphatically
  4. (intr) archaic to declare solemnly
Derived Formsvower, nounvowless, adjective

Word Origin for vow

C13: from Old French vou, from Latin vōtum a solemn promise, from vovēre to vow
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
Word Origin and History for vowed

vow

v.

c.1300, from Old French vouer, from vou (see vow (n.)). Related: Vowed; vowing.

vow

n.

c.1300, from Anglo-French and Old French vou, from Latin votum "a vow, wish, promise, dedication," noun use of neuter of votus, past participle of vovere "to promise solemnly, pledge, dedicate, vow," from PIE root *ewegwh- "to speak solemnly, vow" (cf. Sanskrit vaghat- "one who offers a sacrifice;" Greek eukhe "vow, wish," eukhomai "I pray").

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper