What does "engage" mean?
To interact socially.; To engross or hold the attention of; to keep busy or occupied.
Engage
/ɪnˈɡeɪd͡ʒ/ verb
verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To interact socially.; To engross or hold the attention of; to keep busy or occupied.
- Grammar: engage is listed as verb.
- Nearest alternatives: employ, hire, absorb, absorb.
- Useful contrasts: benumbed, bored, cloistered.
- Usage evidence: If you engage in espionage for a foreign power, you are selling your country down the river.
How to use "engage"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "engage" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "engage" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "engage" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "engage" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "engage" is acting as verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "employ" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "engage", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To interact socially.; To engross or hold the attention of; to keep busy or occupied. transitive
"Thus ſhall mankind his guardian care engage, / The promis'd father of the future age."
- 2 get caught wordnet
- 3 To interact socially.; To draw into conversation. ambitransitive
"the difficult task of engaging him in conversation"
- 4 consume all of one's attention or time wordnet
- 5 To interact socially.; To attract, to please; (archaic) to fascinate or win over (someone).
"This humanity and good nature engages every body to him, so that when he is pleasant upon any of them all his family are in a good humour, and none so much as the person whom he diverts himself with: […]"
Show 17 more definitions
- 6 give to in marriage wordnet
- 7 To interact antagonistically.; To enter into conflict with (an enemy). transitive
"1698-1699, Edmund Ludlow, Memoirs a favourable opportunity of engaging the enemy"
- 8 keep engaged wordnet
- 9 To interact antagonistically.; To enter into battle. intransitive
- 10 engage for service under a term of contract wordnet
- 11 To interact contractually.; To arrange to employ or use (a worker, a space, etc.). transitive
"For this scene, a large number of supers are engaged, and in order to further swell the crowd, practically all the available stage hands have to ‘walk on’ dressed in various coloured dominoes, and all wearing masks."
- 12 hire for work or assistance wordnet
- 13 To interact contractually.; To guarantee or promise (to do something). intransitive
- 14 carry out or participate in an activity; be involved in wordnet
- 15 To interact contractually.; To bind through legal or moral obligation (to do something, especially to marry) (usually in passive). transitive
"They were engaged last month! They're planning to have the wedding next year."
- 16 carry on (wars, battles, or campaigns) wordnet
- 17 To interact contractually.; To pledge, pawn (one's property); to put (something) at risk or on the line; to mortgage (houses, land). obsolete, transitive
"Thou that doest liue in later times, must wage / Thy workes for wealth, and life for gold engage."
- 18 ask to represent; of legal counsel wordnet
- 19 To interact mechanically.; To mesh or interlock (of machinery, especially a clutch).
"Whenever I engage the clutch, the car stalls out."
- 20 engage or hire for work wordnet
- 21 To interact mechanically.; To come into gear with. transitive
"The teeth of one cogwheel engage those of another."
- 22 To entangle. obsolete, transitive
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"If you engage in espionage for a foreign power, you are selling your country down the river."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "engage"?
Common synonyms include: employ, hire, absorb, absorb, absorb the attention, academic personal interest.
How do you use "engage" in a sentence?
If you engage in espionage for a foreign power, you are selling your country down the river.
How do you pronounce "engage"?
Pronounced /ɪnˈɡeɪd͡ʒ/.
Etymology
From Middle English engagen, from Old French engagier (“to pledge, engage”), from Frankish *anwadjōn (“to pledge”), from Proto-Germanic *an-, *andi- + Proto-Germanic *wadjōną (“to pledge, secure”), from Proto-Germanic *wadją (“pledge, guarantee”), from Proto-Indo-European *wedʰ- (“to pledge, redeem a pledge; guarantee, bail”), equivalent to en- + gage. Cognate with Old English anwedd (“pledge, security”), Old English weddian (“to engage, covenant, undertake”), German wetten (“to bet, wager”), Icelandic veðja (“to wager”). More at wed.