ENGA'GE, verb transitive

1. To make liable for a debt to a creditor; to bind one's self as surety.

2. To pawn; to stake as a pledge.

3. To enlist; to bring into a party; as, to engage men for service; to engage friends to aid in a cause.

4. To embark in an affair; as, be not hasty to engage yourself in party disputes.

5. To gain; to win and attach; to draw to.

Good nature engages every one to its possessor.

To very duty he could minds engage

6. To unite and bind by contract or promise. Nations engage themselves to each other by treaty. The young often engage themselves to their sorrow.

7. To attract and fix; as, to engage the attention.

8. To occupy; to employ assiduously. We were engaged in conversation. The nation is engaged in war.

9. To attack in contest; to encounter. The army engaged the enemy at ten o'clock. The captain engaged the ship, at point blank distance.

ENGA'GE, verb intransitive To encounter; to begin to fight; to attack in conflict. The armies engaged at Marengo, in a general battle.

1. To embark in any business; to take a concern in; to undertake. Be cautious not to engage in controversy, without indispensable necessity.

2. To promise or pledge one's word; to bind one's self; as, a friend has engaged to supply the necessary funds.