American Heritage Dictionary Entry: pledge HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key. Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window. guide to the dictionary THE USAGE PANEL The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions. The Panelists NEED HELP SOLVING A CROSSWORD PUZZLE? Go to our Crossword Puzzle Solver and type in the letters that you know, and the Solver will produce a list of possible solutions. -- AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android. THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more. OPEN DICTIONARY PROJECT Share your ideas for new words and new meanings of old words! Start Sharing Now! -- See word lists from the best-selling 100 Words Series! Find out more! INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES? Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com pledge (plĕj) Share: Tweet 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. 2. a. Something given or held as security to guarantee payment of a debt or fulfillment of an obligation. b. The condition of something thus given or held: put an article in pledge. 3. Law a. Delivery of goods or personal property as security for a debt or obligation: a loan requiring a pledge of property. b. The contract or transaction stipulating or involving such delivery. 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. A vow to abstain from alcoholic liquor: ex-drinkers who have taken the pledge. 7. Archaic The act of drinking in honor of someone; a toast. v. pledged, pledg·ing, pledg·es v.tr. 1. To offer or guarantee by a solemn binding promise: pledge loyalty to a nation; pledge that the duties of the office will be fulfilled. See Synonyms at promise. 2. To bind or secure by a pledge or promise: pledged themselves to the cause. See Synonyms at devote. 3. To deposit as security; pawn. 4. a. To promise to join (a fraternity or similar organization). b. To accept as a prospective member of such an organization. 5. Archaic To drink a toast to. v.intr. 1. To make a solemn binding promise; swear. 2. Archaic To drink a toast. [Middle English, from Old French plege, probably from Late Latin plevium, a security, of Germanic origin; see dlegh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices: Indo-European Roots Semitic Roots The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots. 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