pawn

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈpȯn How to pronounce pawn (audio)
ˈpän
Synonyms of pawnnext
1
: one of the chessmen of least value having the power to move only forward ordinarily one square at a time, to capture only diagonally forward, and to be promoted to any piece except a king upon reaching the eighth rank
2
: one that can be used to further the purposes of another

pawn

2 of 3

noun (2)

1
a
: something delivered to or deposited with another as security for a loan
b
: hostage
2
: the state of being pledged
3
: something used as a pledge : guaranty
4
: the act of pawning

pawn

3 of 3

verb

pawned; pawning; pawns

transitive verb

: to deposit in pledge or as security especially in exchange for money
pawner
ˈpȯ-nər How to pronounce pawn (audio)
ˈpä-
noun
or less commonly pawnor
ˈpȯ-nər How to pronounce pawn (audio)
ˈpä-;
pȯ-ˈnȯr,
pä-

Synonyms

Noun (1)

Noun (2)

Verb

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of pawn in a Sentence

Noun (1) though he liked to play up his influence with city hall, he was really just another pawn of the political bosses Noun (2) offered her license as a pawn that she would bring back the rental canoe Verb She was forced to pawn her diamond ring. he pawned his antique watch in order to pay off his gambling debt
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
There’s a common refrain that the troops are being used as pawns. —Dave Smith, Fortune, 30 Oct. 2025 Prosecutors introduced pawn-shop receipts and fingerprint evidence linking her to Mallory’s property, according to court documents. —Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
Verb
Manchester did steal a significant amount of video games from the store, and pawned them. —Theoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 10 Oct. 2025 The outlet also reported, citing police, that McGriff was allegedly seen trying to pawn two phones in the Bronx on Tuesday, Sept. 9. —Nicole Acosta, PEOPLE, 11 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for pawn

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English powne, paun, borrowed from Anglo-French poun, paun, peoun "person traveling on foot, pawn in chess" (continental Old French also peon, pion "foot soldier"), going back to Late Latin pedōn-, pedō "person with flat feet, person going on foot" (Medieval Latin, "foot soldier") from Latin ped-, pēs foot entry 1 + -ōn-, -ō, suffix of nouns denoting persons with a prominent characteristic

Note: Anglo-French poun, paun reflects northern or eastern French dialects, where metaphony of the original pretonic front vowel has apparently resulted in a back vowel—unlike central French, where /ɛ/ was raised to /i/ and later lost syllabicity (hence Modern French pion). In Middle English—in at least the realization that has survived in Modern English—the vowel nucleus fell in with the au diphthong that arose from French an- plus a dental consonant. Compare pioneer entry 1, peon.

Noun (2)

Middle English pawyn, paun, borrowed from Middle French (Walloon, French Flanders) pan "pledge, surety," probably borrowed from one or more Germanic words, as Middle Dutch and Middle Low German pant "security, pledge," going back to West Germanic *panda- (whence also Old Frisian pand, pond "surety," Old Saxon pand, Old High German pfant), of uncertain origin

Note: The vowel of the Modern English word reflects an earlier diphthong that is the regular Anglo-French outcome of -an- plus a dental consonant, though textual evidence for pan in Anglo-French appears to be lacking. In Scots the word is attested as pawnd in 1431, several decades earlier than the first attestations in England, and forms with a final d still are found in Scotland in the eighteenth century. The earliest and apparently the sole Medieval Latin evidence for pandum in Britain is also in a Scottish text, from the twelfth century. As pan "pledge" in medieval French is identical with pan "piece of cloth, tail of a shirt" (see pane), it has been claimed that they are the same word, a piece of cloth having served as the token of a surety given to a creditor; the Germanic words would then have been borrowed from French. This would leave the final -t/-d of the Germanic words unexplained, however. Moreover, the Germanic words are attested earlier—eighth century for Old High German pfant, eleventh century for Old Saxon pand—while the French word is apparently first attested in 1214 (per Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch), and from regions (French Flanders, Hainaut, Lorraine) in contact with Germanic speakers. The source of the Germanic word is uncertain—see discussion in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen. If the word was a borrowing of Latin pondus "weight" (see pound entry 1), it must have taken place at a very early date, before the separation of a and o by quantity in proto-Germanic.

Verb

derivative of pawn entry 2

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

circa 1566, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pawn was in the 14th century

Phrases Containing pawn

Rhymes for pawn

See All Rhymes for pawn

Browse Nearby Words

pawl rim
pawn
pawnage
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pawn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pawn. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.

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Kids Definition

pawn

1 of 3 noun
ˈpȯn How to pronounce pawn (audio)
ˈpän
1
: the piece of least value in the game of chess
2
: one that can be used to further the purposes of another

pawn

2 of 3 noun
1
: something given as a guarantee of repayment of a loan
2
: the state of being pledged
the watch was in pawn

pawn

3 of 3 verb
: to leave as a guarantee of repayment of a loan
pawn a watch
pawner noun
Etymology

Noun

Middle English pown "chess piece representing an ordinary soldier," from early French peoun, paun (same meaning), from Latin pedon-, pedo "foot soldier," derived from earlier ped-, pes "foot" — related to pedestrian

Noun

Middle English paun "something given as a guarantee of repayment of a loan"

Legal Definition

pawn

1 of 2 noun
ˈpȯn How to pronounce pawn (audio)
1
a
: a pledge and transfer of possession of movable or personal property to a creditor which gives the creditor the privilege of satisfying the debt from the property (as by selling it) if the debt is not repaid within a specified time
also : the property pledged
shall not take as a pawn any workman's tools
compare antichresis
b
: the state of being so pledged or burdened by such a pledge
goods held in pawn
2
: the act of pawning

pawn

2 of 2 transitive verb
: to put (personal or movable property) in pawn
when it is redeemed by the person who pawned it
compare hypothecate
pawner
ˈpȯ-nər How to pronounce pawn (audio)
noun
or pawnor
same or pȯ-ˈnȯr

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