as in tool
one that is or can be used to further the purposes of another
though he liked to play up his influence with city hall, he was really just another pawn of the political bosses
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in pledge
something given or held to assure that the giver will keep a promise
offered her license as a pawn that she would bring back the rental canoe
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to deposit
to leave as a guarantee of repayment of a loan
he pawned his antique watch in order to pay off his gambling debt
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples of pawn in a Sentence
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback
about these examples.
Recent Examples on the Web
Dalton Ross, EW.com, 21 Oct. 2024
At this stage, with hostage and cease-fire negotiations stalled and Hamas' leader unreachable in Gaza's warren of tunnels, Rachel likened civilians on both sides to pawns in chess.
—Matt Gutman, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2024
Deon J. Hampton, NBC News, 13 July 2024
So, both of them are able to kind of pawn it off on each other or a problem off of any jurisdictional management or responsibility.
—Lucas E. Wright, USA TODAY, 29 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for pawn 
Noun
The biggest emotional gut punch comes not from anything that happens to Strings, but when Essie is predictably cast aside as yet another pawn in the crooner's game of high-minded self-absorption.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 21 Oct. 2024
At this stage, with hostage and cease-fire negotiations stalled and Hamas' leader unreachable in Gaza's warren of tunnels, Rachel likened civilians on both sides to pawns in chess.
—Matt Gutman, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2024
Verb
Gonzalez, along with her fiancé, Guy Vasquez, 56, pawned their diamond-cluster wedding bands this week just for gas money and food.
—Deon J. Hampton, NBC News, 13 July 2024
So, both of them are able to kind of pawn it off on each other or a problem off of any jurisdictional management or responsibility.
—Lucas E. Wright, USA TODAY, 29 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for pawn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pawn
Verb
-
New players can deposit $10 and bet just $5 on the TNF spread or moneyline to claim $200 back in bonus bets.Steve Fini, Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2024
-
Some will deposit money in your account within one business day of approval, while others may require an additional day or two.Jasmin Suknanan, CNBC, 31 Oct. 2024
Verb
-
Curtailing the items eligible could embolden Amazon ’s competitive online retail advantage — but also poses a risk to fellow portfolio stock Meta Platforms , which has benefited from the likes of Temu and Shein flooding social media with ads hocking their products.Paulina Likos, CNBC, 23 Sep. 2024
-
Outside before the event, a festive atmosphere prevailed in the parking lot as vendors hocked Trump gear, bikers rolled through with a big flag bearing Trump's mug shot from one of the four criminal cases against him and country music blared over loudspeakers.David Jackson, USA TODAY, 18 Aug. 2024
Verb
-
He was rumored to be connected to the Phillies before San Diego mortgaged the farm system to acquire him.David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Nov. 2024
-
Man who found $20 used it to buy a $1 million winning lottery ticket Will mortgage interest rates fall this November?Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 29 Oct. 2024
Articles Related to pawn
Thesaurus Entries Near pawn
Cite this Entry
“Pawn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pawn. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share