pledge

/plɛdʒ/
noun
  1. A serious promise or agreement to do something or behave in a certain way.
    • The students recited the pledge of allegiance at the start of the school day.
    • He made a pledge to donate $100 to the charity every month.
    • She kept her pledge to stop eating sugar for a whole year.
  2. Something valuable that is given as a guarantee that a loan will be repaid or that a promise will be kept.
    • In ancient times, a pledge of land was often used to secure a bargain.
    • They left their gold watch as a pledge for the loan.
    • The ring was held as a pledge until the debt was settled.
  3. A person who has promised to join a club, fraternity, or sorority but has not yet been fully accepted as a member.
    • The older members welcomed the new pledges with a special ceremony.
    • The fraternity pledges had to complete a series of tasks before becoming full members.
    • As a pledge, she attended all the meetings and learned the group's history.
verb
  1. To make a serious promise to do something or give something.
    • The company pledged to reduce its carbon emissions by 50%.
    • They pledged their support for the new community center.
    • I pledge to always tell the truth, no matter what.
  2. To give something as a guarantee for a loan or agreement.
    • The farmer pledged his harvest to pay for the new tractor.
    • She pledged her jewelry to secure the debt.
    • He pledged his car as collateral for the bank loan.
  3. To promise to join a club, fraternity, or sorority.
    • He pledged the fraternity during his first semester of college.
    • She decided to pledge the sorority after meeting the members.
    • Many students pledge a club to make friends and get involved on campus.
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