pledges

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of pledge.

   Donors made several large pledges before the deadline passed.

   The pawnbroker kept the pledges in a locked cabinet behind the counter.

   Note

   One plural covers very different things, so the surrounding words do the sorting. Donors' pledges are promises; a pawnbroker's pledges are goods held as security until a debt is paid; a fraternity's pledges are people, members sworn in but not yet formally approved. The same spelling is also the verb's present-tense form, as in she pledges her support, and only the sentence tells the two apart.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of pledge.

   The company pledges to cut its carbon emissions by half within a decade.

   Each new member pledges loyalty to the club at the opening ceremony.

   Note

   Each meaning brings its own construction. A promise takes a to-infinitive (she pledges to resign) or a direct object (he pledges his support). Putting up security takes the thing handed over, as when someone pledges a watch against a loan, much like pawning it. The toasting meaning takes a person as its object: a host who pledges a guest drinks to that guest's health, offering friendship with the glass.

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