to engage
316
6.1
- verb
- /ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ/
:
entablar combate
- HMS Culloden is also now close enough to engage the rear Spanish ships.
- engage in combat
- engage in violence
- engage in war
It's unbelievably corrosive because they can't engage in physical combat.
- It's unbelievably corrosive because they can't engage in physical combat.
- But do not ever be scared to engage on the ground with an opponent.
- Will those at the missile silos decide to engage and fire?
- And that's when I witnessed other threats trying to engage what I thought was Dustin.
Examples
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The operative question is: how do foreign armies engage their enemy, not how should they engage him.
Academic text (1999) -
The soldiers were ordered to engage the enemy forces in the valley.
-
Will those at the missile silos decide to engage and fire?
-
And they're trying to engage in some sort of counter response.
-
In the Korean War, with 5,720,000 personnel engaged, only 77 men were so honored.
-
How did Hizbullah legitimize its authority to engage in a conflict outside Lebanese borders?
Academic text (2017) -
After careful consideration, the command was given to engage in the battle against the invading army.
-
The general announced plans to engage with hostile forces in the region at dawn.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To take part in a physical or verbal struggle against someone
∞
1.3
To use force to hurt people or damage things
274
3.4
To start fighting in a war between countries or groups
172
5.1
To carry on a war or campaign
122
4.1
To fight something harmful like a disease or unfair treatment
5
6.4
Begin attacking or acting aggressively to gain an advantage
3
7.3
To take part in a fight or argument
Antonyms
Idioms
Phrasal Verbs
How Combative
Surface Forms
Morphology
engage = gage (semi-transparent) = en + gage
The 'engage the enemy' sense (to begin conflict) comes from 'enter into/commit to' and is a metaphorical extension of the base meaning.
Etymology
Engage comes from en- 'in' and gage 'promise', and it came to mean 'enter into' a fight or contest. So to engage an enemy is to begin or take part in battle.