pledge
Use Pledge in a sentence
noun
1.
a solemn promise or agreement to do or refrain from doing something: a pledge of aid; a pledge not to wage war.
2.
something delivered as security for the payment of a debt or fulfillment of a promise, and subject to forfeiture on failure to pay or fulfill the promise.
3.
the state of being given or held as security: to put a thing in pledge.
4.
Law.
a.
the act of delivering goods, property, etc., to another for security.
b.
the resulting legal relationship.
5.
something given or regarded as a security.
verb (used with object)
9.
to bind by or as if by a pledge: to pledge hearers to secrecy.
10.
to promise solemnly: to pledge one's support.
11.
to give or deposit as a pledge; pawn.
12.
to stake, as one's honor.
13.
to secure by a pledge; give a pledge for.
00:10
Pledge
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is skedaddle. Does it mean:
| to spend time idly; loaf. |
| to run away hurriedly; flee. |
verb (used without object)
Idioms 16.
to make or give a pledge: to pledge for someone.
17.
to drink a pledge; toast someone's health, success, etc.
18.
take the pledge, to make a solemn, formal vow to abstain from intoxicating drink.
Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English plege < Anglo-French < early Medieval Latin plevium, plebium, derivative of plebīre to pledge < Germanic; compare Old English plēon to risk, German pflegen to look after. See plight2
1275–1325; Middle English plege < Anglo-French < early Medieval Latin plevium, plebium, derivative of plebīre to pledge < Germanic; compare Old English plēon to risk, German pflegen to look after. See plight2
Related forms
pledge·a·ble, adjective
pledg·er, noun
pledge·less, adjective
in·ter·pledge, verb (used with object), in·ter·pledged, in·ter·pledg·ing.
pre·pledge, verb (used with object), pre·pledged, pre·pledg·ing; noun
qua·si-pledge, verb, qua·si-pledged, qua·si-pledg·ing.
re·pledge, verb (used with object), re·pledged, re·pledg·ing, noun
un·pledged, adjective
Synonyms
2. warranty, surety, guaranty.
2. warranty, surety, guaranty.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To pledge
Collins
World English Dictionary
pledge (plɛdʒ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a formal or solemn promise or agreement, esp to do or refrain from doing something |
| 2. | a. collateral for the payment of a debt or the performance of an obligation |
| b. the condition of being collateral (esp in the phrase in pledge) | |
| 3. | a sign, token, or indication: the gift is a pledge of their sincerity |
| 4. | an assurance of support or goodwill, conveyed by drinking to a person, cause, etc; toast: we drank a pledge to their success |
| 5. | a person who binds himself, as by becoming bail or surety for another |
| 6. | sign the pledge, take the pledge to make a vow to abstain from alcoholic drink |
| —vb | |
| 7. | to promise formally or solemnly: he pledged allegiance |
| 8. | (tr) to bind or secure by or as if by a pledge: they were pledged to secrecy |
| 9. | to give, deposit, or offer (one's word, freedom, property, etc) as a guarantee, as for the repayment of a loan |
| 10. | to drink a toast to (a person, cause, etc) |
| [C14: from Old French plege, from Late Latin plebium gage, security, from plebīre to pledge, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German pflegan to look after, care for] | |
| 'pledgable | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
pledge
mid-14c., "surety, bail," from O.Fr. plege (Fr. pleige) "hostage, security, bail," probably from Frank. *plegan "to guarantee," from a W.Gmc. root meaning "have responsibility for" (cf. O.Saxon plegan "vouch for," O.H.G. pflegan "to care for, be accustomed to," O.E. pleon "to risk, expose to danger").
Meaning "allegiance vow attested by drinking with another" is from 1630s. Sense of "solemn promise" first recorded 1814, though this meaning is from c.1400 in the verb. Weekley notes the "curious contradiction" in pledge "to toast with a drink" (1540s) and pledge "the vow to abstain from drinking" (1833). Noun meaning "student who has agreed to join a fraternity or sorority" dates from 1901.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Easton
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Example sentences
Make the students sign a pledge regarding the contribution of each member.
You two made an imprudent pledge.
Speaker one will ask that everyone rise for the pledge and/or national anthem.
He will pay $5-million of the pledge, and his name will remain on two halls and an auditorium.
Nearby Words
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