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
New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 15 Jan. 2026
Wembanyama’s Spurs moved the first few pawns.
—Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 5 Nov. 2025
Wuornos pawned Carskaddon's gun, per court records reviewed by PEOPLE.
—Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pawn
Noun
In his addled mind, the millions of people in these cities who depend on federal funds for health, transit, education and whatever else are only pawns in a broader struggle to consolidate his own authority by any means necessary.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 15 Jan. 2026
Wembanyama’s Spurs moved the first few pawns.
—Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
Verb
If a helmet is too outdated for your family to use, don't pawn it off on someone else.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 5 Nov. 2025
Wuornos pawned Carskaddon's gun, per court records reviewed by PEOPLE.
—Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pawn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pawn
Verb
-
These reflective masses of relatively young material were deposited many millions of years ago during cataclysmic asteroid strikes that excavated vast basins on the lunar surface.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
30 Jan. 2026
-
The exception last time was for individual taxpayers who filed their 1040 forms electronically without errors, which could be automatically processed and directly deposited.—
Marina Johnson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The page gave a deep snort, hocking a chartreuse wad against the root of the nightingale’s birch.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
19 Nov. 2025
-
Shein is far from the first online retailer to run into trouble with third-party vendors hocking controversial wares or flouting policy standards.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The future has not been mortgaged here; the Sharks just decided to stop hoarding every single chip.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
19 Jan. 2026
-
Is that enough of a sample size to mortgage the team’s future?—
James Boyd,
New York Times,
15 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pawn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pawn. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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