1
a
: a bailment of a chattel as security for a debt or other obligation without involving transfer of title
b
: the chattel so delivered
c
: the contract incidental to such a bailment
2
a
: the state of being held as a security or guaranty
b
: something given as security for the performance of an act
3
: a token, sign, or earnest of something else
4
: a gage of battle
5
6
a
: a binding promise or agreement to do or forbear
b(1)
: a promise to join a fraternity, sorority, or secret society
(2)
: a person who has so promised
pledged; pledging
1
: to make a pledge of
especially
: pawn
2
: to drink to the health of
3
: to bind by a pledge
4
: to promise the performance of by a pledge
Synonyms
Examples of pledge in a Sentence
Noun
He has promised to fulfill a campaign pledge to cut taxes.
To make a pledge or donation, please call the charity's office.
The company has made a pledge of over $3,000.
He left his car as a pledge that he would return with the money.
Verb
Her family pledged $100,000 toward the construction of a new school.
He called to pledge money to the charity.
Every morning, we pledge allegiance to the flag.
teenagers who have pledged not to start smoking
During his campaign, he pledged that he would not raise taxes.
The chefs are pledged to keep the restaurant's special recipe a secret.
He pledged his paintings as collateral for a loan.
Recent Examples on the Web
Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 10 Apr. 2024
Those taking the pledge commit to making conscious choices to reduce personal plastic consumption, engaging in or supporting clean-up initiatives, and advocating for eco-friendly alternatives.
—Alessia Glaviano, Vogue, 10 Apr. 2024
Lawyers had hoped for a decisive win for all three cases in the Strasbourg court that could ripple across the continent and set a legal precedent that governments must commit to climate change pledges.
—Ellen Francis, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
While Oregon has thrived in the Evergreen State in recent years, the Huskies changed the plot by heading into the Beaver State for their first pledge.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024
The pledge was made at the leaders’ summit held in Woodside, California, last year on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.
—Zeke Miller, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2024
Companies made pledges about racial equity, crafted entire units to diversify their workforce and invested financially in the interests of minority communities.
—Kendrick Marshall, Charlotte Observer, 1 Apr. 2024
In the final days, the teams have come forward with community benefits pledges and have announced lease deals with the county sports complex authority.
—The Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 30 Mar. 2024
Her players reflect her sunny disposition while being as controversial as a pledge drive for underprivileged children.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
Tomohiko Taniguchi, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2024
Executives also worry the fiscal backdrop will end up impacting funding even as the president pledged to shield military budgets from cuts.
—Ania Nussbaum, Fortune Europe, 16 Apr. 2024
For President Biden, the incident remains a low point in office, with House Republicans, who continue to investigate the decision-making that precipitated it, having pledged to hold him and his administration accountable for the bloodshed.
—Dan Lamothe, Washington Post, 15 Apr. 2024
The then-businessman and television celebrity sought to allay their worries by pledging to appoint conservative jurists to the Supreme Court.
—David Jackson, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
Last year, several companies, including Microsoft, OpenAI, and Google, voluntarily pledged to develop a system of watermarking as a way to designate content that has been created by AI.
—Vittoria Elliott, WIRED, 10 Apr. 2024
That’s on top of some 330 billion yen ($2.17 billion) in subsidies already pledged by the government.
—Junko Ogura, CNN, 10 Apr. 2024
At the federal level, Biden has pledged that zero-emission vehicles will make up half of new car and truck sales in the U.S. by 2030.
—Sophie Austin, Fortune, 10 Apr. 2024
Trump has pledged to pardon Capitol riot defendants, including those who assaulted police.
—Spencer Hsu, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
Noun
Leaving the group: The study comes at a time when some large banks are pulling out of high-commitment climate pledges and Republican backlash grows against investing strategies that evaluate stocks using environmental, social and governance factors.
—Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 10 Apr. 2024
Those taking the pledge commit to making conscious choices to reduce personal plastic consumption, engaging in or supporting clean-up initiatives, and advocating for eco-friendly alternatives.
—Alessia Glaviano, Vogue, 10 Apr. 2024
Lawyers had hoped for a decisive win for all three cases in the Strasbourg court that could ripple across the continent and set a legal precedent that governments must commit to climate change pledges.
—Ellen Francis, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
While Oregon has thrived in the Evergreen State in recent years, the Huskies changed the plot by heading into the Beaver State for their first pledge.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024
The pledge was made at the leaders’ summit held in Woodside, California, last year on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.
—Zeke Miller, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2024
Companies made pledges about racial equity, crafted entire units to diversify their workforce and invested financially in the interests of minority communities.
—Kendrick Marshall, Charlotte Observer, 1 Apr. 2024
In the final days, the teams have come forward with community benefits pledges and have announced lease deals with the county sports complex authority.
—The Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 30 Mar. 2024
Her players reflect her sunny disposition while being as controversial as a pledge drive for underprivileged children.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
Verb
In January, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, speaking from a bomb shelter in Kyiv, pledged to allocate another $37 million to a NATO fund for Ukraine; the money will go toward the purchase of drone detection systems.
—Tomohiko Taniguchi, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2024
Executives also worry the fiscal backdrop will end up impacting funding even as the president pledged to shield military budgets from cuts.
—Ania Nussbaum, Fortune Europe, 16 Apr. 2024
For President Biden, the incident remains a low point in office, with House Republicans, who continue to investigate the decision-making that precipitated it, having pledged to hold him and his administration accountable for the bloodshed.
—Dan Lamothe, Washington Post, 15 Apr. 2024
The then-businessman and television celebrity sought to allay their worries by pledging to appoint conservative jurists to the Supreme Court.
—David Jackson, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
Last year, several companies, including Microsoft, OpenAI, and Google, voluntarily pledged to develop a system of watermarking as a way to designate content that has been created by AI.
—Vittoria Elliott, WIRED, 10 Apr. 2024
That’s on top of some 330 billion yen ($2.17 billion) in subsidies already pledged by the government.
—Junko Ogura, CNN, 10 Apr. 2024
At the federal level, Biden has pledged that zero-emission vehicles will make up half of new car and truck sales in the U.S. by 2030.
—Sophie Austin, Fortune, 10 Apr. 2024
Trump has pledged to pardon Capitol riot defendants, including those who assaulted police.
—Spencer Hsu, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pledge.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near pledge
Cite this Entry
“Pledge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pledge. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
pledge
1 of 2 noun1
: the handing over of something to another to assure that the giver will keep his or her promise
also
: the thing handed over
2
: the state of being held as a security
given in pledge
3
: something that is a token or sign of something else
the ring is a pledge of love
5
: a promise or agreement that must be kept
pledge
2 of 2 verb
pledged; pledging
1
: to give as a pledge
2
: to drink to the health of : toast entry 3
3
: to obligate by a pledge
pledged myself to give $50
4
: to promise by a pledge
pledge money to charity
Legal Definition
pledge
1 of 2 noun1
: a delivery of especially personal property as security for a debt or other obligation
broadly
: the perfection of a security interest in collateral through possession of the collateral by a creditor or other promisee
2
a
: property and especially personal property that is used as security especially upon delivery
broadly
: a security interest in collateral compare chattel mortgage at mortgage
b
: a contract under which the delivery of property (as personal property) as security takes place
3
a
: the state of being held as security or guaranty
property held in pledge
b
: something given as security for the performance of an act
4
: a binding promise to do or forbear
pledge
2 of 2 transitive verb
pledged; pledging
1
: to deliver or otherwise put forward as security for a debt or other obligation
pledged his car as collateral for the loan
2
: to bind by a pledge
we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor—Declaration of Independence
Declaration of Independence3
: to assure or promise the performance or payment of
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