engage
verb OPAL W
/ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ/
/ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ/
Verb Forms
Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they engage | /ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ/ /ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ/ |
| he / she / it engages | /ɪnˈɡeɪdʒɪz/ /ɪnˈɡeɪdʒɪz/ |
| past simple engaged | /ɪnˈɡeɪdʒd/ /ɪnˈɡeɪdʒd/ |
| past participle engaged | /ɪnˈɡeɪdʒd/ /ɪnˈɡeɪdʒd/ |
| -ing form engaging | /ɪnˈɡeɪdʒɪŋ/ /ɪnˈɡeɪdʒɪŋ/ |
- [transitive] engage something/somebody (formal) to succeed in attracting and keeping somebody’s attention and interest
- It is a movie that engages both the mind and the eye.
- Their pleas failed to engage any sympathy.
- to engage the public/audience/viewer/reader
- It was difficult to engage the students at first.
- The party is attempting to engage young voters politically.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- actively
- directly
- fully
- …
- fail to
- refuse to
- with
- actively
- constructively
- openly
- …
- attempt to
- seek to
- try to
- …
- [transitive] (formal) to employ a person, company, etc. to do a particular job
- engage somebody/something She has aready engaged a lawyer.
- We will have to engage the services of a translator.
- engage somebody/something as something He was immediately engaged as a consultant.
- engage somebody/something to do something Karl Böhm engaged her to sing in Vienna.
Extra Examples- Some of the directors wanted to engage another firm.
- They have engaged companies as subcontractors for the construction work
- The government engages charitable organizations to help in the distribution of food
- [intransitive] engage (with something/somebody) to become involved with and try to understand something/somebody
- She has the ability to engage with young minds.
Extra Examples- We acknowledge the need to engage directly with these problems.
- Our contributors are actively engaging with tradition.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- actively
- directly
- fully
- …
- fail to
- refuse to
- with
- actively
- constructively
- openly
- …
- attempt to
- seek to
- try to
- …
- [transitive, intransitive] (formal) to begin fighting with somebody
- engage somebody He ordered his men to engage the enemy.
- engage with somebody The fleet sailed out of Cadiz to engage with the enemy.
- [intransitive, transitive] when a part of a machine engages, or when you engage it, it fits together with another part of the machine and the machine begins to work
- The cogwheels are not engaging.
- engage with something One cogwheel engages with the next.
- engage something Engage the clutch before selecting a gear.
opposite disengage
Word Originlate Middle English (formerly also as ingage): from French engager, ultimately from the base of gage, ‘a pledge or deposit offered as a guarantee’. The word originally meant ‘to pawn or pledge something’, later ‘pledge oneself (to do something)’, hence ‘enter into a contract’ (mid 16th cent.), ‘involve oneself in an activity’, ‘enter into combat’ (mid 17th cent.), giving rise to the notion ‘involve someone or something else’.