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
Michelle Kuo, The Dial, 14 Apr. 2026
But, in the slammers investigation, nearly all the people being prosecuted were pawns—passengers who’d agreed to ride in cars.
—Patrick Radden Keefe, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026
Itzel Franco, CNBC, 30 Jan. 2026
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents reportedly stole a teenage boy’s phone — and then seemingly pawned it afterwards for cash.
—Frank Landymore, Futurism, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pawn
Noun
By framing alliances as transactional, Trump risks turning Taiwan into a pawn for his business deals.
—Michelle Kuo, The Dial, 14 Apr. 2026
But, in the slammers investigation, nearly all the people being prosecuted were pawns—passengers who’d agreed to ride in cars.
—Patrick Radden Keefe, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026
Verb
In fact, jewelry remains the most frequently sold and pawned categories, according to a Canaccord survey of several EZCorp and FirstCash locations.
—Itzel Franco, CNBC, 30 Jan. 2026
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents reportedly stole a teenage boy’s phone — and then seemingly pawned it afterwards for cash.
—Frank Landymore, Futurism, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pawn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pawn
Verb
-
Artturi Lehkonen deposited a goal and assisted on another by Cale Makar after Gabriel Landeskog opened the scoring and before Brock Nelson added an empty-netter for Colorado.—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
24 Apr. 2026
-
The author calculated the shock wave’s energy that would be deposited in a human body by using physics similar to that of a bullet impact, which, though disquieting to say the least, is not a bad assumption from a scientific standpoint.—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The page gave a deep snort, hocking a chartreuse wad against the root of the nightingale’s birch.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
19 Nov. 2025
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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
-
In addition, the Jets could mortgage some of their future draft picks to acquire players.—
Antwan Staley,
New York Daily News,
21 Apr. 2026
-
The Knicks mortgaged their future for the present.—
James L. Edwards III,
New York Times,
16 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pawn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pawn. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.
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