En*gage" , v. i. 1. To
promise or pledge one's
self; to enter into an
obligation; to become bound; to warrant.
How proper the remedy for the malady, I engage not.
Fuller. 2. To embark in
a business; to take a part; to employ or involve one's
self; to devote attention and effort; to enlist; as,
to engage in controversy.
3. To enter into conflict; to join battle; as, the armies engaged in a general battle.
4. (Mach.)
To be in
gear, as two
cogwheels working together.
En*gage" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Engaged (?); p. pr. &
vb. n. Engaging (?).]
[F. engager; pref. en- (L. in) + gage pledge, pawn. See Gage.] 1. To put under
pledge; to pledge; to place under obligations to do or forbear doing something, as by a pledge, oath, or promise; to bind by contract or promise. "I to thee engaged a prince's word." Shak.
2. To gain for service; to bring in as associate or aid; to enlist; as, to
engage friends to aid in a cause; to engage men for service.
3. To gain over; to
win and attach; to attract and hold; to draw.
Good nature engages everybody to him.
Addison.
4. To employ the attention and efforts of; to occupy;
to engross; to draw on.
Thus shall mankind his guardian care engage.
Pope. Taking upon himself the difficult task of engaging him in conversation.
Hawthorne.
5. To enter into contest with; to encounter; to bring to conflict.
A favorable opportunity of engaging the enemy.
Ludlow.
6. (Mach.) To come into gear with; as,
the teeth of one cogwheel engage those of another, or one part of a clutch engages the other part.
Hear it pronounced