Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words
Definition of pledge - 5 dictionary results
Clean With Pledge®
Use Pledge For Everyday Cleaning To Remove Smudges, Smears & Dust.
www.pledge.com
Pledge at Amazon.com
Buy pledge at Amazon! Order by Dec 18- Get it by Xmas
Amazon.com
Office Cleaning Supplies
Choose OfficeDepot.com For All Your Office Cleaning Supply Needs
www.OfficeDepot.com

pledge

  [plej] noun, verb, pledged, pledg⋅ing.
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.
6. a person accepted for membership in a club, fraternity, or sorority, but not yet formally approved.
7. an assurance of support or goodwill conveyed by drinking a person's health; a toast.
8. Obsolete.
a. a hostage.
b. a person who becomes bail or surety for another.
–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.
14. to accept as a pledge for club, fraternity, or sorority membership.
15. to drink a health or toast to.
–verb (used without object)
16. to make or give a pledge: to pledge for someone.
17. to drink a pledge; toast someone's health, success, etc.
—Idiom
18. take the pledge, to make a solemn, formal vow to abstain from intoxicating drink.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME plege < AF < early ML plevium, plebium, deriv. of plebīre to pledge < Gmc; cf. OE plēon to risk, G pflegen to look after. See plight 2

Related forms:
pledge⋅a⋅ble, adjective
pledger, noun
pledgeless, adjective

Synonyms:
2. warranty, surety, guaranty.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To pledge
Clean With Pledge®
Use Pledge For Everyday Cleaning To Remove Smudges, Smears & Dust.
www.pledge.com
Pledge at Amazon.com
Buy pledge at Amazon! Order by Dec 18- Get it by Xmas
Amazon.com
pledge   (plěj)   
n.  

  1. A solemn binding promise to do, give, or refrain from doing something: signed a pledge never to reveal the secret; a pledge of money to a charity.

    1. Something given or held as security to guarantee payment of a debt or fulfillment of an obligation.

    2. The condition of something thus given or held: put an article in pledge.

    3. Delivery of goods or personal property as security for a debt or obligation: a loan requiring a pledge of property.

    4. The contract by which such delivery is made.

  3. Law

    1. Delivery of goods or personal property as security for a debt or obligation: a loan requiring a pledge of property.

    2. The contract by which such delivery is made.

  4. A token or sign: "fair pledges of a fruitful tree" (Robert Herrick).

  5. A person who has been accepted for membership in a fraternity or similar organization and has promised to join but has not yet been initiated.

  6. The act of drinking in honor of someone; a toast.

  7. A vow to abstain from alcoholic liquor: ex-drinkers who have taken the pledge.

v.   pledged, pledg·ing, pledg·es

v.   tr.

  1. To offer or guarantee by a solemn binding promise: pledge loyalty to a nation. See Synonyms at devote, promise.

  2. To bind or secure by or as if by a pledge: pledged themselves to the cause.

  3. To deposit as security; pawn.

    1. To promise to join (a fraternity or similar organization).

    2. To accept as a prospective member of such an organization.

  5. To drink a toast to.

v.   intr.

  1. To make a solemn binding promise; swear.

  2. To drink a toast.


[Middle English, from Old French plege, probably from Late Latin plevium, a security, of Germanic origin; see dlegh- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: pledge
Pronunciation: 'plej
Function: noun
1 : a delivery of esp. personal property as security for a debt or other obligation; broadly : the perfection of a security interest in collateral through possession of the collateral by a creditor or other promisee
2 a : property and esp. personal property that is used as security esp. upon delivery; broadly : a security interest in collateral —compare chattel mortgage at MORTGAGE b : a contract under which the delivery of property (as personal property) as security takes place
3 a : the state of being held as security or guaranty pledge> b : something given as security for the performance of an act
4 : a binding promise to do or forbear

Main Entry: pledge
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: pledged; pledg·ing
1 : to deliver or otherwise put forward as security for a debt or other obligation <pledged his car as collateral for the loan>
2 : to bind by a pledge pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor —Declaration of Independence>
3 : to assure or promise the performance or payment of —pled·gor /'ple-j&r, ple-'jor/ or pledg·er /'ple-j&r/ noun
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Bible Dictionary

Pledge

See LOAN.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Cite This Source
Search another word or see pledge on Thesaurus | Reference
Office Cleaning Supplies
Choose OfficeDepot.com For All Your Office Cleaning Supply Needs
www.OfficeDepot.com
Pledge ® Products & More
Save on Pledge products & more. Free ship at $49! OfficeWorld.com ™
Pledge.OfficeWorld.com
Pledge of Allegiance
News, analysis of First Amendment issues over "under God" phrase.
www.firstamendmentcenter.org
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way