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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pawn
Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2025
Haley Pavone: The first thing that comes to mind is that small business owners like myself are really feeling like pawns in this trade war and we're feeling largely ignored.
—Rhett Buttle, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025
Greta Cross, USA TODAY, 26 Feb. 2025
Almeida, Denn and Eric Tyrrell, then a coworker of Almeida’s who had tried to pawn the coins, were ultimately arrested and indicted in Norfolk County Superior Court.
—Alex Andrejev, The Athletic, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pawn
Noun
Based on the information the pawn shop owner gives him, Joe is able to track George down to a strip of desert near the coal mine where he’s been living by himself, with only a horse as a companion.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2025
Haley Pavone: The first thing that comes to mind is that small business owners like myself are really feeling like pawns in this trade war and we're feeling largely ignored.
—Rhett Buttle, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025
Verb
In fact, the stunt was part of a global campaign in which the app pawned different countries against one another to see which could earn the most XP (experience points) to save Duo.
—Greta Cross, USA TODAY, 26 Feb. 2025
Almeida, Denn and Eric Tyrrell, then a coworker of Almeida’s who had tried to pawn the coins, were ultimately arrested and indicted in Norfolk County Superior Court.
—Alex Andrejev, The Athletic, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pawn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pawn
Verb
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These were recovered from some 75 wells drilled back in the early 1980s to depths 8,000 feet beneath Osceola and Mecosta counties, a sparsely populated swath of central Michigan, into a layer of rock rich in minerals deposited by an ocean that evaporated millions of years ago.—
Christopher Helman,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
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He was observed by the FBI on or around May 1 depositing an item at the specified location.—
Elizabeth Pritchett,
FOXNews.com,
30 May 2025
Verb
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Despite the league’s highest payroll and having already hocked any draft pick that wasn’t nailed down (some of them more than once), the Suns fell 15-18 on the season.—
John Hollinger,
The Athletic,
6 Jan. 2025
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Conversely, Soto was like the guy who hocks his wedding ring before the separation agreement is signed.—
Greg Marotta,
New York Daily News,
26 Mar. 2025
Verb
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This means the liquid assets already mortgaged to mostly European actors remain intact, while the physical assets in areas such as agriculture, energy, telecommunications, etc... that are still intact will stay with their previous owners.—
Wesley Alexander Hill,
Forbes.com,
7 May 2025
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And in both countries, younger generations are increasingly aware that those in power are willing to mortgage their futures.—
Zongyuan Zoe Liu,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pawn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pawn. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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