pledge

verb

/pledʒ/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they pledge	/pledʒ/ /pledʒ/
he / she / it pledges	/ˈpledʒɪz/ /ˈpledʒɪz/
past simple pledged	/pledʒd/ /pledʒd/
past participle pledged	/pledʒd/ /pledʒd/
-ing form pledging	/ˈpledʒɪŋ/ /ˈpledʒɪŋ/

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[transitive] to formally promise to give or do something
- pledge something Japan has pledged $100 million in humanitarian aid.
- The government pledged their support for the plan.
- pledge something to somebody/something We all had to pledge allegiance to the flag (= state that we are loyal to our country).
- pledge to do something The group has pledged to continue campaigning.
- pledge (that)… The group has pledged that they will continue campaigning.
Extra Examples
- The country pledged not to interfere in its neighbour's affairs.
- The government has pledged that it will not raise taxes.
[transitive] to make somebody or yourself formally promise to do something synonym swear
- pledge somebody/yourself (to something) They were all pledged to secrecy.
- pledge somebody/yourself to do something The government has pledged itself to root out corruption.
[transitive] pledge something to leave something with somebody as a pledge
[intransitive, transitive] (North American English) to promise to become a junior member of a fraternity or sorority
- Do you think you'll pledge this semester?
- pledge something My brother pledged Sigma Nu (= promised to join the Sigma Nu fraternity)

pledge

noun

/pledʒ/

Idioms

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a serious promise synonym commitment
- pledge (of something) a pledge of support
- pledge to do something Will the government honour its election pledge not to raise taxes?
- to fulfil/break/abandon a pledge
- pledge that… Management has made a pledge that there will be no job losses this year.
Extra Examples
- The new leader demanded a pledge of loyalty from each of his allies.
- manifesto pledges on greater public spending
- The party's election pledge was to cut income taxes by a third over the next five years.
- spending pledges made by the government
- The new owners gave a pledge that there would be no job losses.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- campaign
- election
- manifesto
- …
verb + pledge
- give (somebody)
- make
- sign
- …
preposition
- pledge on
phrases
- a pledge of support
See full entry
a sum of money or something valuable that you leave with somebody to prove that you will do something or pay back money that you owe

Word OriginMiddle English (denoting a person acting as surety for another): from Old French plege, from medieval Latin plebium, perhaps related to the Germanic base of plight (verb).

Idioms

sign/take the pledge

(old-fashioned) to make a promise never to drink alcohol