From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishengageen‧gage /ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ/ ●○○ verb formal 1 [intransitive always + preposition] to be doing or to become involved in an activityengage in/on/upon Only 10% of American adults engage in regular exercise. The two parties engaged upon an escalating political struggle. Mr Armstrong was engaged in prayer.engage in doing something Despite her illness, she remains actively engaged in shaping policy.2 [transitive]BUSY/NOT AVAILABLE to attract someone’s attention and keep them interestedengage somebody’s interest/attention The toy didn’t engage her interest for long.engage somebody in conversation (=start talking to them)3 → engage with somebody/something4 [transitive]BEJOB/WORK formal to employ someone to do a particular jobengage somebody to do something Her father engaged a tutor to improve her maths.engage somebody as something We’d be able to engage local people as volunteers.5 T[intransitive, transitive] if you engage part of a machine, or if it engages, it moves so that it fits into another part of the machine OPP disengage She engaged the clutch and the car moved.engage with The wheel engages with the cog and turns it.6 [intransitive, transitive]PMFIGHT to begin to fight an enemy American forces did not directly engage.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
engage• She didn't appear to beat all like the kind of lady who would be engaging a maid.• Paul was engaged as a junior clerk at a very low wage.• The two armies engaged at dawn.• I was engaged in enquiry into the matter when I learnt of the attack upon her sister.• Trained to futility by now, we will be ready to engage in further enterprises of a futile nature.• All students should engage in intellectually challenging work and should graduate on the basis of what they know and can do.• And if you have a deadlock system, don't forget to engage it.• No Man has more wit, nor can any one engage the attention more than Mr Morris.• She is a storyteller who can engage the children's imagination.• She engaged the clutch and put the car into first gear.• The vet was increasingly busy and had to engage two new assistants.engage in/on/upon• On the analysis offered here, rationality is partly a matter of engaging in a dialogue with others in an appropriate way.• Perhaps, years later, children would finally get the chance to engage in a tennis volley.• He says that the two Professors have become engaged in an increasingly bad-tempered debate on the nature of light.• Everyone else who was not engaged in either survey data collection or ship handling seemed to be doing the same.• Nature programs every successful species to engage in gender and inter-generational cooperation to the extent that is necessary for reproduction.• They come close to enjoining all scientists to refuse to engage in military research but then back off at the last moment.• Transformational leadership at the whole-organization level, then, involves more than engaging in the daily fray.• Instead, they say industry should engage in the debate to promote the life-saving benefits from testing treatments on animals.engage somebody in conversation• I was in terror that he might try to engage me in conversation.• In the office, some girls have engaged the secretary in conversation.• They spoke little about life outside the organization despite my efforts to engage them in conversation about it.• Through the all-night watches he engaged officers in conversation, asked them questions about world affairs.• Lydia felt briefly sorry for her and attempted to engage her in conversation, but it was no good.• I could then have pretended to notice him for the first time and have engaged him in conversation in an impromptu manner.• Ten minutes later I tried again to engage him in conversation with a friendly word.• An outgoing man, Mr Gibbs engaged himself in conversation with Jimmy and the boy's sisters.engage somebody to do something• The board engaged Thompson to conduct a series of seminars.engage with• The wheel engages with the cog and turns it.From Longman Business Dictionaryengageen‧gage /ɪnˈgeɪdʒ/ verb [transitive] formal to arrange to employ someone or to pay someone to do something for youengage somebody to do somethingYou will need to engage a commercial lawyer to protect your interests in the drafting of a contract.→ See Verb tableOrigin engage (1500-1600) French engager, from gage “something given as a promise” 