engage

/ɪnˈɡeɪd͡ʒ/

//ɪnˈɡeɪd͡ʒ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"engage" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“engage” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,878. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,878
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To interact socially.

Corpus desk

Index EN-engage · engage · English

engage · rank #3,878 · 8 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,878
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH ears

Nearest frequency peer: ears (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “engage”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “engage” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

engage vs engle
67% similar
engage vs engine
67% similar
engage vs engaged
86% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for engage
PropertyValue
Headwordengage
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɪnˈɡeɪd͡ʒ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#3,878
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “engage” sits in English frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).engagelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “ears” (#3,877), “extraordinary” (#3,879), “drove” (#3,876). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around engage (IPA /ɪnˈɡeɪd͡ʒ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #3,878 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 12 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for engage, with forms such as "egnage", "enagge", and "engaeg". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "engle", "engine", "engaged", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English engagen, from Old French engagier (“to pledge, engage”), from Frankish *anwadjōn (“to pledge”), from Proto-Germanic *an-, *andi- + Proto-Germanic *wadjōną (“to pledge, secure”), from Proto-Germanic *wadją (“pledge, guarantee”), from Prot… The correct English form is engage, spelled E-N-G-A-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To interact socially.
  2. 2
    To interact socially.
  3. 3
    To interact socially.
  4. 4
    To interact antagonistically.
  5. 5
    To interact antagonistically.
  6. 6
    To interact contractually.
  7. 7
    To interact contractually.
  8. 8
    To interact contractually.
  9. 9
    To interact contractually.
  10. 10
    To interact mechanically.
  11. 11
    To interact mechanically.
  12. 12
    To entangle.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how engage appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Thus ſhall mankind his guardian care engage, / The promis'd father of the future age.
  2. the difficult task of engaging him in conversation

Etymology

From Middle English engagen, from Old French engagier (“to pledge, engage”), from Frankish *anwadjōn (“to pledge”), from Proto-Germanic *an-, *andi- + Proto-Germanic *wadjōną (“to pledge, secure”), from Proto-Germanic *wadją (“pledge, guarantee”), from Proto-Indo-European *wedʰ- (“to pledge, redeem a pledge; guarantee, bail”), equivalent to en- + gage. Cognate with Old English anwedd (“pledge, security”), Old English weddian (“to engage, covenant, undertake”), German wetten (“to bet, wager”), Icelandic veðja (“to wager”). More at wed.

Antonyms

disengage

This word in other languages

entablar(Español)attirer l'attention(Français)beschäftigen(Deutsch)contratar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • egnage
  • enagge
  • engaeg
  • engagge
  • enggae
  • enggage
  • enngage
  • negage

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of engage - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

egnage2enagge2engaeg2engagge1enggae2enggage1enngage1negage2
Edit distance from "engage"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "engage"?
"engage" is spelled E-N-G-A-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪnˈɡeɪd͡ʒ/.
What does "engage" mean?
As a verb, "engage" means: To interact socially.
What words are commonly confused with "engage"?
"engage" is commonly confused with "engle", "engine", "engaged". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "engage"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "engage" is /ɪnˈɡeɪd͡ʒ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "engage"?
From Middle English engagen, from Old French engagier (“to pledge, engage”), from Frankish *anwadjōn (“to pledge”), from Proto-Germanic *an-, *andi- + Proto-Germanic *wadjōną (“to pledge, secure”), from Proto-Germanic *wadją (“pledge, guarantee”),... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "engage", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

gaming#3,882Austin#3,861asleep#3,860argued#3,859

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

glory8 variantscents8 variantstongue8 variantssword8 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "engage". Here's where to go from here.

  • "engage" maps to 7 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "engle". View pair
  • 8 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #3,878 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "E" letter cohort. E–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list