1. (

• prosecute ,
• engage ,
• pursue

) carry out or participate in an activity; be involved in; "She pursued many activities"; "They engaged in a discussion" ;

2. (

• absorb ,
• engross ,
• engage ,
• occupy

) consume all of one's attention or time; "Her interest in butterflies absorbs her completely" ;

3. (

• hire ,
• engage ,
• employ

) engage or hire for work; "They hired two new secretaries in the department"; "How many people has she employed?" ;

4. (

• engage

) ask to represent; of legal counsel; "I'm retaining a lawyer" ;

5. (

• betroth ,
• engage ,
• affiance ,
• plight ,

) give to in marriage ;

6. (

• engage

) get caught; "make sure the gear is engaged" ;

7. (

• engage ,
• wage

) carry on (wars, battles, or campaigns); "Napoleon and Hitler waged war against all of Europe" ;

8. (

• engage ,
• enlist

) hire for work or assistance; "engage aid, help, services, or support" ;

9. (

• lease ,
• rent ,
• hire ,
• charter ,
• engage ,
• take ,

) engage for service under a term of contract; "We took an apartment on a quiet street"; "Let's rent a car"; "Shall we take a guide in Rome?" ;

10. (

• engage ,
• mesh ,
• lock ,
• operate ,

) keep engaged; "engaged the gears" ;

1. (

• engaged ,
• occupied

) having ones attention or mind or energy engaged; "she keeps herself fully occupied with volunteer activities"; "deeply engaged in conversation" ;

2. (

• engaged

) involved in military hostilities; "the desperately engaged ships continued the fight" ;

3. (

• booked ,
• engaged ,
• set-aside

) reserved in advance ;

4. (

• busy ,
• engaged ,
• in_use

) (of facilities such as telephones or lavatories) unavailable for use by anyone else or indicating unavailability; (`engaged' is a British term for a busy telephone line); "her line is busy"; "receptionists' telephones are always engaged"; "the lavatory is in use"; "kept getting a busy signal" ;

5. (

• engaged ,
• meshed ,
• intermeshed

) (used of toothed parts or gears) interlocked and interacting; "the gears are engaged"; "meshed gears"; "intermeshed twin rotors" ;

6. (

• engaged

) having services contracted for; "the carpenter engaged (or employed) for the job is sick" ;

7. (

• engaged

) built against or attached to a wall; "engaged columns" ;