Learning / English Dictionary

ENGAGE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Get caught

Example:

make sure the gear is engaged

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "engage" is one way to...):

touch (make physical contact with, come in contact with)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "engage"):

lock (become rigid or immoveable)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Antonym:

disengage (become free)

Derivation:

engagement (contact by fitting together)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Consume all of one's attention or time

Example:

Her interest in butterflies absorbs her completely

Synonyms:

absorb; engage; engross; occupy

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "engage" is one way to...):

interest (excite the curiosity of; engage the interest of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "engage"):

involve (occupy or engage the interest of)

consume (engage fully)

rivet (hold (someone's attention))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence examples:

They engage themselves

The performance is likely to engage Sue

Sense 3

Meaning:

Give to in marriage

Synonyms:

affiance; betroth; engage; plight

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "engage" is one way to...):

vow (make a vow; promise)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody PP

Derivation:

engagement (a mutual promise to marry)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Keep engaged

Example:

engaged the gears

Synonyms:

engage; lock; mesh; operate

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "engage" is one way to...):

displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "engage"):

flip; switch; throw (cause to go on or to be engaged or set in operation)

ride (keep partially engaged by slightly depressing a pedal with the foot)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Antonym:

disengage (release from something that holds fast, connects, or entangles)

Derivation:

engagement (contact by fitting together)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Engage for service under a term of contract

Example:

Shall we take a guide in Rome?

Synonyms:

charter; engage; hire; lease; rent; take

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "engage" is one way to...):

acquire; get (come into the possession of something concrete or abstract)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s something from somebody

Sense 6

Meaning:

Hire for work or assistance

Example:

engage aid, help, services, or support

Synonyms:

engage; enlist

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "engage" is one way to...):

procure; secure (get by special effort)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "engage"):

recruit (seek to employ)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something from somebody

Sense 7

Meaning:

Carry out or participate in an activity; be involved in

Example:

They engaged in a discussion

Synonyms:

engage; prosecute; pursue

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "engage" is one way to...):

act; move (perform an action, or work out or perform (an action))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "engage"):

politick (engage in political activities)

close (engage at close quarters)

commit; practice (engage in or perform)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

engagement (the act of sharing in the activities of a group)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Carry on (wars, battles, or campaigns)

Example:

Napoleon and Hitler waged war against all of Europe

Synonyms:

engage; wage

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "engage" is one way to...):

contend; fight; struggle (be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "engage"):

offer; provide; put up (mount or put up)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

engagement (a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war)

Sense 9

Meaning:

Ask to represent; of legal counsel

Example:

I'm retaining a lawyer

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "engage" is one way to...):

employ; engage; hire (engage or hire for work)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 10

Meaning:

Engage or hire for work

Example:

How many people has she employed?

Synonyms:

employ; engage; hire

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "engage"):

featherbed (hire more workers than are necessary)

fill (appoint someone to (a position or a job))

engage (ask to represent; of legal counsel)

ship (hire for work on a ship)

contract; sign; sign on; sign up (engage by written agreement)

rat (employ scabs or strike breakers in)

farm out; job; subcontract (arranged for contracted work to be done by others)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

engagement (the act of giving someone a job)

Credits

 Context examples: 

I have myself told him that Miss Thorpe is engaged.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

It is more than I engage for, I assure you.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

I thought all this very pretty and engaging, and Steerforth seemed to think so too, as we looked after them fading away in the light of a young moon.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

He is a truly excellent young man, and we could not refuse to listen to him, but I will not consent to Meg's engaging herself so young.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

I first became acquainted with him on board a whale vessel; finding that he was unemployed in this city, I easily engaged him to assist in my enterprise.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Activated K-ras engages multiple effector pathways.

(Pancreatic Cancer Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/KEGG)

A threaded fastener designed to engage a bolt.

(Nut Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) Does the patient engage in repetitive activities such as handling buttons, picking, wrapping string, etc.?

(NPI - Engage in Repetitive Activities, NCI Thesaurus)

The classification system is based on the ability, or lack thereof, to engage in physical activity.

(New York Heart Association Class, NCI Thesaurus)

A person qualified to be engaged in activity directed at preservation of mental and physical health by diseases prevention and treatment as a source of livelihood.

(Health Care Professional, NCI Thesaurus)