engaged
adjective uk/ɪnˈɡeɪdʒd/ us/ɪnˈɡeɪdʒd/
(MARRIAGE)
B1 已订婚的
having formally agreed to marry
Debbie and Christa have just got engaged. 戴比和克丽丝塔刚刚订婚。
She was engaged to some guy in the army. 她和一个当兵的订了婚。
formal They're engaged to be married in June. 他们订了婚，将于6月完婚。
- More examples
- He asked her to sign a prenuptial agreement when they got engaged.
- She told me that she'd been engaged three times, but had never actually married.
- This photo was taken when we were engaged.
- Where this form asks about my marital status, should I write 'engaged' or just 'single'?
- She got engaged to her childhood sweetheart as soon as she left school.
(INVOLVED/BUSY)
[ after verb ]卷入…的;从事…的
involved in something
They've been engaged in a legal battle with the council for several months. 数月来他们一直在与市政委员会进行法律斗争。
She's part of a team of scientists who are engaged on/upon cancer research. 她是从事癌症研究的科学家小组成员。
[ after verb ] formal忙于某事的
busy doing something
I'd come to the meeting on Tuesday but I'm afraid I'm otherwise engaged (= doing something else). 我很想参加周二的会议，但是恐怕我另有公务，脱不开身。
- More examples
- The soldiers were engaged in hand-to-hand combat.
- Rescuers were engaged in a frantic all-night effort to reach the survivors before their supply of air ran out.
- So, what is this big research project you're engaged upon at the moment?
- We wondered whether the mysterious gentleman was engaged upon a secret government mission.
- During the war, she was actively engaged in the resistance.
(IN USE)
B1 （电话）占线的，忙的；（公厕）有人使用的
If a phone or public toilet is engaged, someone is already using it.
Every time I call her, she/the phone/the number is engaged. 每次我给她打电话，她的电话都占线。
UK I've been trying to call him all evening, but I keep getting the engaged tone. 我整个晚上都在试着给他打电话，但每次听到的都是忙音。
The sign on the toilet door said "Engaged". 厕所门上的显示牌显示“有人”。
Compare: vacant (EMPTY)
- More examples
- His phone is engaged - can I put you on hold?
- I've called him several times but his phone is always engaged.
- The doctor's consulting room said "Engaged" on the door, but nobody was in there.
- When the aircraft's toilet is engaged, the "occupied" sign is lit up.
- All of the cubicles in the changing room were engaged, so we had to wait a few minutes.