plight

1 of 3

verb

ˈplīt 

plighted; plighting; plights

transitive verb

: to put or give in pledge : engage

plight his troth

plighter noun

plight

2 of 3

noun (1)

: a solemnly given pledge : engagement

plight

3 of 3

noun (2)

: an unfortunate, difficult, or precarious situation

Examples of plight in a Sentence

Noun (2)

Huckelberry decided to use the owl's plight as the impetus to craft a comprehensive conservation plan. —Terry McCarthy, Time, 4 Apr. 2005

It's a sign of where the health-care debate has gone that truly big dilemmas—like the plight of the 42.6 million people still uninsured or the future of Medicare—are taking a back seat to what was only recently a relatively minor campaign issue. —Jonathan Alter, Newsweek, 9 Oct. 2000

New political arrangements helped do in both Uruguay and New Zealand, and behind those arrangements are the plights of western Europe's old agricultural supply regions, especially those of France. —Jane Jacobs, Cities and the Wealth of Nations, 1984

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Not for months, but for years, plighting their troth. —Guy Martin, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024

Noun

The characters are too particular on the one hand, and the mean girls trope too familiar on the other, to usefully generalize into a statement about the plight of teenage girls. —Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024

As the title would suggest, a foundational religious concept figures prominently in the plot, and as Cecilia’s situation becomes increasingly dire, her plight feels magnified by her status as a stranger in a remote corner of an unfamiliar land. —Brian Lowry, CNN, 21 Mar. 2024

In remarks at the White House, Varadkar — one of the most outspoken supporters of the Palestinians among European leaders — set out his views on Irish empathy for the plight of the Palestinians. —Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024

Many are finding ways to leverage their life experiences for positive change on the Korean Peninsula in various career fields and generate global attention on the plight of North Koreans, Kim said. —Michelle Lee, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2024

Some members have even shown a bit of concern for the plight of the Rohingya. —Timothy McLaughlin, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2024

The film aims to raise awareness of the plight of small coastal communities on South Africa’s Wild Coast, who are standing up to the oil and gas industry. —Leo Barraclough, Variety, 28 Mar. 2024

The plight of farmers has become a rallying cry for populists and conservatives who claim EU climate and farm policies are little more than bureaucratic bungling from elitist politicians who have lost any feeling for soil and land. —Raf Casert, Fortune Europe, 27 Mar. 2024

Lynch acknowledged that contract talks would be difficult but the 49ers have overcome similar plights in past years en route to extending homegrown players, such as George Kittle, Fred Warner, Deebo Samuel and Nick Bosa. —Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 25 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English plihten, plyȝten, plighten "to put under risk of forfeiture, promise, pledge" (plighten trouthe "to make a promise, make vows of betrothal"), going back to Old English plihtan "to endanger, compromise," verbal derivative of pliht "danger, risk" — more at plight entry 2

Note: Parallel formations are Old Frisian plichta "to be liable (for)," Middle Dutch plichten, plechten "to pledge, commit," Middle High German phlichten "to take part, oblige, pledge," perhaps pointing to descent from a verb already formed in West Germanic.

Noun (1)

Middle English pliht, plyȝth, plyȝt, plite "danger, harm, strife, sin, guilt, pledge made under risk of forfeiture, covenant," going back to Old English pliht "danger, risk, damage," going back to West Germanic *plehti- (whence also Old Frisian plicht "responsibility, liability," Middle Dutch plicht, plechte "responsibility, community, care," Old High German pfliht "care, fostering, precept"), derivative with the abstract noun suffix *-ti- from the base of *plehan-/*plegan- (whence Old English plēon "to expose to danger, risk the loss of" [class V strong verb], Old Frisian plega, pliga "to be in the habit of doing, do," Old Saxon plegan "to accept responsibility [for]," Middle Dutch pleghen "to look after, care, be used to, use, apply," Old High German pflegan "to look [after], bear responsibility, vouch [for]"), of uncertain origin

Note: As has long been acknowledged, the ulterior origin of *plehan-/*plegan- is problematic. The original meaning of the verb is not entirely clear, and the initial p- presupposes *b-, which existed marginally, if at all, in the Indo-European parent language of Germanic. E. Seebold (Vergleichendes und etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen starken Verben, The Hague, 1970) takes as the primary meaning "to stake (as an amount in a game)," from which both "expose to danger" (as in Old English) and "to act as guarantor for, look after, direct, be accustomed to" (as elsewhere in Germanic) proceed. Seebold further attaches to this verb Old English plegan, plegian "to move quickly, occupy oneself, dance, play" (see play entry 1). R. Lühr, et al. (Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Band 6), however, take the original meaning of the Germanic verb to have been "to make, do," from which all the other senses proceed (they point to the many nuances of Latin facere "to do, make"). As an etymological explanation, they compare Middle High German spulgen "to maintain, be accustomed, use" (< Germanic *spulǥ-ii̯e/a-) and suggest that *plehan-/*plegan- was formed from the same base by loss of a presumed mobile s after the Germanic sound shift (hence preserving p). They see the verb as ultimately formed by root extension from Indo-European *(s)pelH- "split off, separate" and connect it with the etymon of plow entry 1.

Noun (2)

Middle English plit, plite, pliȝt, plyght, pleyt "condition, set of circumstances, good condition, health, bad condition, distress," borrowed from Anglo-French plit, plite, plait, ploy "fold, bend, measure of cloth, twist, plait, state, situation, poor situation, predicament," (in literal sense "fold, etc.," also plet, pleit, playe), in part noun derivative of plier, pleier, ploier "to fold, bend," in part going back to Vulgar Latin *plictum "something folded" — more at pleat entry 1, ply entry 3

Note: The forms with -i- and final t (or -te), which predominate in both Anglo-French and Middle English, appear to merge the i of pli (compare Old French plei, ploi, Middle and Modern French pli, and see ply entry 2) with the final consonant of plait, pleit, ploit. The Anglo-Norman Dictionary uses pli as the headword, but the citations given show no examples. Middle English forms such as pliȝt, plyght show assimilation to plight entry 2, of which the Middle English senses "danger, harm, etc.," are not far distant; the Middle English Dictionary enters both words under a single entry plight.

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing plight

• plight one's troth

Kids Definition

plight

1 of 2 verb

ˈplīt 

: to put or give in pledge

plighter noun

plight

2 of 2 noun

: a usually bad condition or state : predicament

in a sorry plight