Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Engagement \En*gage"ment\, n. [Cf. F. engagement.]
   1. The act of engaging, pledging, enlisting, occupying, or
      entering into contest.

   2. The state of being engaged, pledged or occupied; specif.,
      a pledge to take some one as husband or wife.

   3. That which engages; engrossing occupation; employment of
      the attention; obligation by pledge, promise, or contract;
      an enterprise embarked in; as, his engagements prevented
      his acceptance of any office.

            Religion, which is the chief engagement of our
            league.                               --Milton.

   4. (Mil.) An action; a fight; a battle.

            In hot engagement with the Moors.     --Dryden.

   5. (Mach.) The state of being in gear; as, one part of a
      clutch is brought into engagement with the other part.

   Syn: Vocation; business; employment; occupation; promise;
        stipulation; betrothal; word; battle; combat; fight;
        contest; conflict. See {Battle}.

Source : WordNet®

engagement
     n 1: a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course
          of a war; "Grant won a decisive victory in the battle of
          Chickamauga"; "he lost his romantic ideas about war when
          he got into a real engagement" [syn: {battle}, {conflict},
           {fight}]
     2: a meeting arranged in advance; "she asked how to avoid
        kissing at the end of a date" [syn: {date}, {appointment}]
     3: a mutual promise to marry [syn: {betrothal}, {troth}]
     4: the act of giving someone a job [syn: {employment}]
     5: employment for performers or performing groups that lasts
        for a limited period of time; "the play had bookings
        throughout the summer" [syn: {booking}]
     6: contact by fitting together; "the engagement of the clutch";
        "the meshing of gears" [syn: {mesh}, {meshing}, {interlocking}]
     7: the act of sharing in the activities of a group; "the
        teacher tried to increase his students' engagement in
        class activities" [syn: {participation}, {involvement}, {involution}]
        [ant: {non-engagement}, {non-engagement}, {non-engagement}]