engagement

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The action of engaging or the state of being engaged.
• noun The condition of being in gear.
• noun A mutual promise to get married.
• noun The period during which this promise is kept.
• noun A pledge or obligation.
• noun A promise or agreement to be at a particular place at a particular time.
• noun Employment, especially for a specified time.
• noun A specific, often limited, period of employment.
• noun A hostile encounter; a battle.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun The act of engaging, binding, or pledging, or the state of being engaged, bound, or pledged.
• noun That to which one is engaged or pledged; an agreement; an appointment; a contract; an undertaking: as, he failed to fulfil his engagement.
• noun Specifically The state of having entered into a contract of marriage; betrothal: as, their engagement has been announced.
• noun That which engages or binds; obligation.
• noun Strong attachment or adherence; partiality; bias; partizanship.
• noun Occupation; employment of the attention; affair of business.
• noun In machinery, the act or state of meshing together and acting upon each other: as, the engagement of geared wheels.
• noun A combat between armies or fleets; a fight; a conflict; a battle.
• noun In fencing, the joining of weapons with an adversary: as, an engagement in carte, tierce, etc. Rolando (ed. Forsyth).
• noun Synonyms Pledge, etc. (see promise, n.), contract.
• noun Conflict, Fight, etc. See battle.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun The act of engaging, pledging, enlisting, occupying, or entering into contest.
• noun The state of being engaged, pledged or occupied; specif., a pledge to take some one as husband or wife.
• noun That which engages; engrossing occupation; employment of the attention; obligation by pledge, promise, or contract; an enterprise embarked in.
• noun (Mil.) An action; a fight; a battle.
• noun (Mach.) The state of being in gear.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun countable an appointment, especially to speak or perform
• noun uncountable connection or attachment
• noun countable or uncountable the period of time when marriage is planned or promised
• noun In any situation of conflict, an actual instance of active hostilities.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
• noun a mutual promise to marry
• noun the act of giving someone a job
• noun the act of sharing in the activities of a group
• noun contact by fitting together
• noun a meeting arranged in advance
• noun employment for performers or performing groups that lasts for a limited period of time