simple past tense and past participle of engage
"She was engaged to her college sweetheart before they even graduated."
In plain English: To be engaged means to take part in an activity with focus and interest.
"The new employees are currently engaged in learning the company's software."
Usage: Use engaged to describe someone who has become busy with an activity or committed to a specific task. It functions as the simple past or past participle of engage when indicating that involvement has already occurred.
(of facilities such as telephones or lavatories) unavailable for use by anyone else or indicating unavailability; (`engaged' is a British term for a busy telephone line)
"her line is busy"
"receptionists' telephones are always engaged"
"the lavatory is in use"
"kept getting a busy signal"
(used of toothed parts or gears) interlocked and interacting
"the gears are engaged"
"meshed gears"
"intermeshed twin rotors"
Agreed to be married.
"After months of dating, they finally announced that they were engaged to each other."
In plain English: Engaged means being fully focused and interested in what you are doing or talking about.
"She was engaged to her college sweetheart for five years before they got married."
Usage: When describing a person's marital status, use engaged to mean they have agreed to marry someone and are officially planning the wedding. Do not confuse this with being busy or occupied, which requires a different word entirely.
Derived from Old French engagier, this term originally meant to pledge something as security or collateral. It later evolved in English to describe being bound by an agreement, such as a marriage promise, or physically occupied with a task.