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engagement

 - 5 dictionary results

en⋅gage⋅ment

[en-geyj-muhnt]
–noun
1. the act of engaging or the state of being engaged.
2. an appointment or arrangement: a business engagement.
3. betrothal: They announced their engagement.
4. a pledge; an obligation or agreement: All his time seems to be taken up with social engagements.
5. employment, or a period or post of employment, esp. in the performing arts: Her engagement at the nightclub will last five weeks.
6. an encounter, conflict, or battle: We have had two very costly engagements with the enemy this week alone.
7. Mechanics. the act or state of interlocking.
8. engagements, Commerce. financial obligations.

Origin:
1615–25; engage + -ment


4. contract, promise.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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en·gage·ment   (ěn-gāj'mənt)   
n.  
  1. The act of engaging or the state of being engaged.

  2. Betrothal.

  3. Something that serves to engage; a pledge.

  4. A promise or agreement to be at a particular place at a particular time.

    1. Employment, especially for a specified time.

    2. A specific, often limited, period of employment.

  5. A hostile encounter; a battle.

  6. The condition of being in gear.

Synonyms: These nouns denote a commitment to appear at a certain time and place: a business engagement; a dental appointment; a secret assignation; a date to play tennis; a rendezvous of agents at the border; a lovers' tryst.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: en·gage·ment
Pronunciation: in-'gAj-m&nt
Function: noun
: the phase of parturition in which the fetal head passes into thecavity of the true pelvis
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

engagement en·gage·ment (ěn-gāj'mənt)
n.
The entrance of the fetal head or presenting part into the upper opening of the maternal pelvis.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Encyclopedia

engagement

promise that a marriage will take place. In societies in which premarital sexual relations are condoned or in which consensual union is common, betrothal may be unimportant. In other societies, however, betrothal is a formal part of the marriage process. In such cases a change of intention by one of the parties is a serious matter and may be referred to as a breach of promise, a civil transgression subject in some instances to a fine or other penalty

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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