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# pawn

noun (a pawn, pawns); verb (pawn, pawns, pawned, pawning)

«pawn» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A pawn is the smallest and least powerful piece in chess; each player has eight. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pawn/#m1)
2. A pawn is a person who is used by someone more powerful to get what they want. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pawn/#m2)
3. To pawn something is to leave it at a shop (a pawnbroker's) in exchange for a loan of money; you get it back if you pay the money back. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pawn/#m3)

### In the lessons

In chess, pawns move forward one square (two on their first move) and capture diagonally; a pawn that reaches the far side becomes a queen or another piece. In stories, a character used by a villain is "just a pawn". In money lessons, pawnshops lend money for objects.

### Examples

- Each player starts with eight pawns. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pawn/#x1)
- My pawn reached the end and became a queen. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pawn/#x2)
- The pawn captured the knight. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pawn/#x3)
- He was only a pawn in the villain's plan. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pawn/#x4)
- She pawned her ring to pay the bills. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pawn/#x5)
- The pawnshop gave him money for his guitar. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pawn/#x6)
- The sheep in a fable must march on, as the pawn in chess must march on. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pawn/#x7)

### Note

Countable. Do not confuse with "prawn" (a sea animal) or "paw".

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «pawn» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pawn/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«pawn» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/pawn.html) on Mova free.