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engage

verb
 OPAL W
🔊/ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ/
🔊/ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they engage
🔊/ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ/
🔊/ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ/
he / she / it engages
🔊/ɪnˈɡeɪdʒɪz/
🔊/ɪnˈɡeɪdʒɪz/
past simple engaged
🔊/ɪnˈɡeɪdʒd/
🔊/ɪnˈɡeɪdʒd/
past participle engaged
🔊/ɪnˈɡeɪdʒd/
🔊/ɪnˈɡeɪdʒd/
-ing form engaging
🔊/ɪnˈɡeɪdʒɪŋ/
🔊/ɪnˈɡeɪdʒɪŋ/
Phrasal Verbs
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  1.  
     [transitive] engage something/somebody (formal) to succeed in attracting and keeping somebody’s attention and interest吸引住（注意力、兴趣）
    • It is a movie that engages both the mind and the eye.这是一部令人赏心悦目的影片。🔊🔊
    • Their pleas failed to engage any sympathy.他们的恳求没有引起任何同情。
    • to engage the public/audience/viewer/reader吸引公众/观众/观众/读者
    • It was difficult to engage the students at first.起初很难吸引学生。
    • The party is attempting to engage young voters politically.这个政党设法让年轻选民参与政治。
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • actively
    • directly
    • fully
    • …
    verb + engage
    • fail to
    • refuse to
    preposition
    • with
    adverb
    • actively
    • constructively
    • openly
    • …
    verb + engage in
    • attempt to
    • seek to
    • try to
    • …
    See full entry
  2.  
     [transitive] (formal) to employ a person, company, etc. to do a particular job雇用；聘用
    • engage somebody/something She has aready engaged a lawyer.她已经派大律师聘请了律师。
    • We will have to engage the services of a translator.我们得聘一名翻译人员。
    • engage somebody/something as something He was immediately engaged as a consultant.他立即被聘为顾问。
    • engage somebody/something to do something Karl Böhm engaged her to sing in Vienna.卡尔·伯姆（KarlBöhm）让她在维也纳唱歌。
    Extra Examples
    • Some of the directors wanted to engage another firm.一些董事想聘请另一家公司。
    • They have engaged companies as subcontractors for the construction work他们聘请公司作为分包商进行建筑工作
    • The government engages charitable organizations to help in the distribution of food政府与慈善组织合作，协助分发食物
  3. [intransitive] engage (with something/somebody) to become involved with and try to understand something/somebody与…建立密切关系；尽力理解
    • She has the ability to engage with young minds.她能够与年轻人心意相通。🔊🔊
    Extra Examples
    • We acknowledge the need to engage directly with these problems.我们承认需要立即处理这些问题。
    • Our contributors are actively engaging with tradition.我们的撰稿人在积极地涉猎传统问题。
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • actively
    • directly
    • fully
    • …
    verb + engage
    • fail to
    • refuse to
    preposition
    • with
    adverb
    • actively
    • constructively
    • openly
    • …
    verb + engage in
    • attempt to
    • seek to
    • try to
    • …
    See full entry
  4. [transitive, intransitive] (formal) to begin fighting with somebody与（某人）交战；与（某人）开战
    • engage somebody He ordered his men to engage the enemy.他命令他的士兵与敌人开战。
    • engage with somebody The fleet sailed out of Cadiz to engage with the enemy.舰队驶出加的斯与敌人交战。
    Topics War and conflictc2
  5. [intransitive, transitive] when a part of a machine engages, or when you engage it, it fits together with another part of the machine and the machine begins to work（使）衔接，啮合
    • The cogwheels are not engaging.齿轮未啮合在一起。🔊🔊
    • engage with something One cogwheel engages with the next.齿轮一个个啮合在一起。🔊🔊
    • engage something Engage the clutch before selecting a gear.先踩离合器再挂挡。🔊🔊
    6. opposite disengage
    Word Originlate Middle English (formerly also as ingage): from French engager, ultimately from the base of gage, ‘a pledge or deposit offered as a guarantee’. The word originally meant ‘to pawn or pledge something’, later ‘pledge oneself (to do something)’, hence ‘enter into a contract’ (mid 16th cent.), ‘involve oneself in an activity’, ‘enter into combat’ (mid 17th cent.), giving rise to the notion ‘involve someone or something else’.