- a chess piece of the smallest size and least value. Each player has eight pawns at the start of a game.
- He had to sacrifice another pawn.
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- a person or group whose actions are controlled by more powerful people
- The hostages are being used as political pawns.
- The prince became a pawn in the game of power politics.
Word Originnoun late Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French poun, from medieval Latin pedo, pedon- ‘foot soldier’, from Latin pes, ped- ‘foot’. Compare with peon.
Idioms
See pawn in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryin pawn
- if something is in pawn, it has been pawned
- All her jewellery was in pawn.
Check pronunciation:
pawn