Meaning & use
pawn
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Meanings
nouncountable
The smallest and weakest chess piece, which usually moves one square forward and can become a stronger piece.
Grammar: Always countable: eight pawns on each side.
Patterns
- move a pawn
- sacrifice a pawn
She moved her pawn two squares forward on the first turn.
Losing a pawn early can cost you the game.
A pawn that reaches the far row can become a queen.
nouncountablefigurativedisapproving
A person who is used by others to gain an advantage and who has little power or choice.
Grammar: Used with in: a pawn in someone's game.
Patterns
- a pawn in something
- be used as a pawn
The workers felt like pawns in a dispute between the owners.
The child was used as a pawn in the divorce.
Small countries were treated as pawns in the larger struggle.
verbtransitive
To leave something valuable with a lender as a guarantee for a loan, so that it can be reclaimed once the money is repaid.
Grammar: Takes an object: pawn a watch.
Patterns
- pawn something
- pawn something for something
He pawned his guitar to pay the rent.
She pawned her grandmother's ring for a small loan.
They pawned their camera to get through the month.
noununcountableold-fashioned
An item left with a lender as a guarantee for a loan; also the state of being held as such.
Grammar: Often appears in the phrase in pawn.
Patterns
- in pawn
- hold something in pawn
The watch was held in pawn for three months.
His coat was in pawn at the shop on the corner.
She left her jewelry in pawn and never returned.
Word forms
| plural | pawns |
|---|---|
| third person singular | pawns |
| past tense | pawned |
| -ing form | pawning |
Common combinations
- pawn shop
- He sold his old radio at the pawn shop.
- pawn something
- She had to pawn her wedding ring.
- mere pawn
- He realized he was a mere pawn in their plan.
- sacrifice a pawn
- A good player may sacrifice a pawn to win a stronger piece.
- pawn in the game
- Voters should not become pawns in the game of politics.
- promote a pawn
- He promoted the pawn to a queen.
Synonyms and how they differ
- puppet
- Puppet suggests someone is fully controlled and has no will, while pawn stresses being used for a larger goal.
- tool
- Tool is more general and can be neutral, whereas pawn nearly always means someone being exploited.
- pledge
- Pledge is a formal word for giving something as a guarantee, and it is not limited to pawnshops.
Opposites
Word family
- pawnbroker noun
- a person who lends money in exchange for goods
- pawnshop noun
- a shop where people can pawn things
- pawnee noun
- the person who receives something in pawn
- pawner noun
- someone who pawns something
Commonly confused: pawn or prawn? pawn or pawn vs. paw?
pawn vs prawn
A prawn is a shellfish; the spelling is close, but it has nothing to do with chess or loans.
pawn vs pawn vs. paw
A paw is an animal's foot, while a pawn is a chess piece or an item left as security for a loan.
Practice
Short of money, Tom decided to ____ his watch at the shop on the corner.
Choose one answer.
To pawn something is to leave it with a lender in exchange for a loan. Lend and borrow concern money, not leaving an item as security.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pawn”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.