I. pawn 1 /pɔːn $ pɒːn/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Anglo-French ; Origin: poun , from Medieval Latin pedo 'soldier' ]
1 . one of the eight smallest and least valuable pieces which each player has in the game of ↑ chess
2 . someone who is used by a more powerful person or group and has no control of the situation
pawn in
They became pawns in the political battle.
II. pawn 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: pawn 'condition of having been pawned' (15-21 centuries) , from Old French pan ]
to leave something valuable with a pawnbroker in order to borrow money from them
pawn something ↔ off phrasal verb American English
1 . informal to persuade someone to buy or accept something that you want to get rid of, especially something of low quality
pawn something ↔ off on
Don’t let him pawn off an old bike on you – get a new one.
2 . pawn somebody/something ↔ off as something to present something in a dishonest way:
The tabloids often pawn off gossip and trivia as real news.