Definitions for pledge
plɛdʒpledge

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.7 / 3 votes

1. pledgenoun

   a deposit of personal property as security for a debt

   "his saxophone was in pledge"

2. pledgenoun

   someone accepted for membership but not yet fully admitted to the group

3. pledge, toastnoun

   a drink in honor of or to the health of a person or event

4. assurance, pledgeverb

   a binding commitment to do or give or refrain from something

   "an assurance of help when needed"; "signed a pledge never to reveal the secret"

5. pledge, plightverb

   promise solemnly and formally

   "I pledge that I will honor my wife"

6. pledge, subscribeverb

   pay (an amount of money) as a contribution to a charity or service, especially at regular intervals

   "I pledged $10 a month to my favorite radio station"

7. toast, drink, pledge, salute, wassailverb

   propose a toast to

   "Let us toast the birthday girl!"; "Let's drink to the New Year"

8. pledgeverb

   give as a guarantee

   "I pledge my honor"

9. pledgeverb

   bind or secure by a pledge

   "I was pledged to silence"

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. pledgenoun

   A solemn promise to do something.

2. pledgenoun

   A person who has taken a pledge of allegiance to a college fraternity, but not yet formally approved.

3. pledgenoun

   A security to guarantee payment of a debt.

4. pledgenoun

   A drinking toast.

5. pledgenoun

   (the pledge): A promise to abstain from drinking alcohol.

6. pledgeverb

   To make a solemn promise (to do something).

7. pledgeverb

   To deposit something as a security; to pawn.

8. Etymology: From plege, from plege, from plege (Modern pleige) from plevium, plebium, from plebire "to pledge", of origin, from *, from plegō, from dlegh-. Akin to pflegan, plegan, pleon. More at plight.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Pledgenoun

   Etymology: pleige, Fr. pieggio, Italian.

   1. Any thing put to pawn.2. A gage; any thing given by way of warrant or security; a pawn.

   These men at the first were only pitied; the great humility, zeal and devotion, which appeared to be in them, was in all men’s opinion a pledge of their harmless meaning. Richard Hooker.

   If none appear to prove upon thy person
   Thy heinous, manifest and many treasons;
   There is my pledge, I’ll prove it on thy heart. William Shakespeare.

   That voice their liveliest pledge
   Of hope in fears and dangers. John Milton.

   Money is necessary both for counters and for pledges, and carrying with it even reckoning and security. John Locke.

   Hymen shall be aton’d, shall join two hearts,
   And Aribert shall be the pledge of peace. Nicholas Rowe.

   3. A surety; a bail; an hostage.

   What purpose could there be of treason, when the Guianians offered to leave pledges, six for one. Walter Raleigh.

   Good sureties will we have for thy return,
   And at thy pledges peril keep thy day. Dryden.

2. To Pledgeverb

   Etymology: pleiger, Fr. pieggiare, Italian.

   1. To put in pawn.

   Asleep and naked as an Indian lay,
   An honest factor stole a gem away;
   He pledg’d it to the knight; the knight had wit,
   So kept the diamond. Alexander Pope.

   2. To give as warrant or security.3. To secure by a pledge.

   I accept her;
   And here to pledge my vow, I give my hand. William Shakespeare.

   4. To invite to drink, by accepting the cup or health after another.

   The fellow, that
   Parts bread with him, and pledges
   The breath of him in a divided draught,
   Is th’ readiest man to kill him. William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens.

   To you noble lord of Westmoreland.
   —— I pledge your grace. William Shakespeare, Henry IV.

   That flexanimous orator began the king of Homebia’s health; he presently pledg’d it. James Howell, Vocal Forest.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. pledge

   A pledge is a formal commitment or promise made by an individual or group to fulfill a specific obligation or task. It is a solemn declaration to fulfill a duty, often accompanied by a sense of dedication and loyalty. Pledges can be made in various contexts, such as personal, social, professional, or legal, and are intended to demonstrate a strong commitment and reliability to the stated cause or objective.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:4.0 / 2 votes

1. Pledgenoun

   the transfer of possession of personal property from a debtor to a creditor as security for a debt or engagement; also, the contract created between the debtor and creditor by a thing being so delivered or deposited, forming a species of bailment; also, that which is so delivered or deposited; something put in pawn

2. Pledgenoun

   a person who undertook, or became responsible, for another; a bail; a surety; a hostage

3. Pledgenoun

   a hypothecation without transfer of possession

4. Pledgenoun

   anything given or considered as a security for the performance of an act; a guarantee; as, mutual interest is the best pledge for the performance of treaties

5. Pledgenoun

   a promise or agreement by which one binds one's self to do, or to refrain from doing, something; especially, a solemn promise in writing to refrain from using intoxicating liquors or the like; as, to sign the pledge; the mayor had made no pledges

6. Pledgenoun

   a sentiment to which assent is given by drinking one's health; a toast; a health

7. Pledgenoun

   to deposit, as a chattel, in pledge or pawn; to leave in possession of another as security; as, to pledge one's watch

8. Pledgenoun

   to give or pass as a security; to guarantee; to engage; to plight; as, to pledge one's word and honor

9. Pledgenoun

   to secure performance of, as by a pledge

10. Pledgenoun

    to bind or engage by promise or declaration; to engage solemnly; as, to pledge one's self

11. Pledgenoun

    to invite another to drink, by drinking of the cup first, and then handing it to him, as a pledge of good will; hence, to drink the health of; to toast

12. Etymology: [Cf. OF. pleiger to give security. See Pledge, n.]

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Pledge

   plej, n. something given as a security: one who becomes surety for another: a sentiment of goodwill or friendship expressed by drinking together.—v.t. to give as security: to engage for by promise: to invite to drink by partaking of the cup first: to drink to the health of.—ns. Pledgee′, the person to whom a thing is pledged; Pledg′er.—Pledge card, a card given, as a remembrancer, to a person who has signed the total abstinence pledge; Pledge cup, a cup for drinking pledges.—Hold in pledge, to keep as security; Put in pledge, to pawn; Take, or Sign, the pledge, to give a written promise to abstain from intoxicating liquor. [O. Fr. plege (Fr. pleige); prob. L. præbēre, to afford.]

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. PLEDGE

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Pledge is ranked #61745 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Pledge surname appeared 325 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Pledge.
   
   56.6% or 184 total occurrences were Black.
   34.4% or 112 total occurrences were White.
   8% or 26 total occurrences were of two or more races.

Matched Categories

1. • Consign
   • Donate
   • Drink
   • Honor
   • Member
   • Oblige
   • Promise
   • Security Interest

British National Corpus

1. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'pledge' in Verbs Frequency: #1080

How to pronounce pledge?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say pledge in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of pledge in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of pledge in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of pledge in a Sentence

1. Godfather, The:

   Don Corleone I'm a superstitious man, and if some unlucky accident should befall Michael - if he is to be shot in the head by a police officer, or be found hung dead in a jail cell... or if he should be struck by a bolt of lightning - then I'm going to blame some of the people in this room and then I do not forgive. But with said, I pledge - on the souls of my grandchildren - that I will not be the one to break the peace that we have made today.

2. Ben Johnson:

   Drink to me only with thine eyes, And I will pledge with mine Or leave a kiss but in the cup And I'll not look for wine.

3. Chairman Michael Quillen:

   We made a pledge to our employees to provide a safe place to work and benefits that would extend beyond their years of employment. It's imperative for the company to honor that pledge.

4. Eric Rassbach:

   The Pledge-in the tradition of Washington's Farewell Address or Lincoln's Gettysburg Address-is not a prayer to God, but a statement about who we are as a nation. Dissenters have every right to sit out the Pledge, but they can't silence everyone else.

5. Jeff Paukovitch:

   I think a lot of parents wouldn't think of that( the Pledge of Allegiance), but The Pledge of Allegiance's The Pledge of Allegiance too because I teach second grade and that's kind of my everyday.

Popularity rank by frequency of use