pawn

1
[ pawn ]
See synonyms for pawn on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. to deposit as security, as for money borrowed, especially with a pawnbroker: He raised the money by pawning his watch.

  2. to pledge; stake; risk: to pawn one's life.

noun
  1. the state of being deposited or held as security, especially with or by a pawnbroker: jewels in pawn.

  2. something given or deposited as security, as for money borrowed.

  1. a person serving as security; hostage.

  2. the act of pawning.

Origin of pawn

1
First recorded in 1490–1500; noun from Middle French pan; Old French pan(d), pant, apparently from West Germanic; compare Old Frisian pand, Old Saxon, Middle Dutch pant, German Pfand; verb derivative of the noun

Other words for pawn

Other words from pawn

  • pawn·a·ble, adjective
  • pawn·er [paw-ner], /ˈpɔ nər/, paw·nor [paw-ner, -nawr], /ˈpɔ nər, -nɔr/, noun
  • un·pawned, adjective

Other definitions for pawn (2 of 2)

pawn2
[ pawn ]

noun
  1. Chess. one of eight men of one color and of the lowest value, usually moved one square at a time vertically and capturing diagonally.

  2. someone who is used or manipulated to further another person's purposes.

Origin of pawn

2
First recorded in 1375–1425; Middle English poun(e), paun, from Anglo-French, equivalent to Middle French poon, variant of paon, earlier pe(h)on “foot soldier,” literally, “walker”; see origin at peon1

Other words for pawn

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use pawn in a sentence

  • The feather pillows, sheets, and blankets: bits of carpet or oilcloth, and as much of their clothing as was saleable or pawnable.

  • Whatever was pawnable had gone already, of course, except the little nickel-plated clock.

    A Child of the Jago | Arthur Morrison

British Dictionary definitions for pawn (1 of 2)

pawn1

/ (pɔːn) /


verb(tr)
  1. to deposit (an article) as security for the repayment of a loan, esp from a pawnbroker

  2. to stake: to pawn one's honour

noun
  1. an article deposited as security

  2. the condition of being so deposited (esp in the phrase in pawn)

  1. a person or thing that is held as a security, esp a hostage

  2. the act of pawning

Origin of pawn

1
C15: from Old French pan security, from Latin pannus cloth, apparently because clothing was often left as a surety; compare Middle Flemish paen pawn, German Pfand pledge

Derived forms of pawn

  • pawnage, noun

British Dictionary definitions for pawn (2 of 2)

pawn2

/ (pɔːn) /


noun
  1. a chessman of the lowest theoretical value, limited to forward moves of one square at a time with the option of two squares on its initial move: it captures with a diagonal move only: Abbreviation: P Compare piece (def. 12)

  2. a person, group, etc, manipulated by another

Origin of pawn

2
C14: from Anglo-Norman poun, from Old French pehon, from Medieval Latin pedō infantryman, from Latin pēs foot

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012