vow

vow

I. vow¹ /vaʊ/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: vou, from Latin votum; ⇨ ↑vote²]
1. a serious promise ⇨ oath:
Jim made a vow that he would find his wife’s killer.
2. a religious promise that you will do something for God, the church etc:
a monk who had taken a vow of poverty
3. vows [plural]
a) (also marriage/wedding vows) the promises you make during your wedding
b) the promises you make when you become a Catholic priest or ↑nun
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ make a vow I made a vow never to go near the place again.
▪ take a vow (=make a vow at a formal ceremony) Priests have to take a vow of obedience to the Catholic Church.
▪ keep a vow (=do as you promised) She kept her vow not to tell anyone about their affair.
▪ break a vow (=fail to do as you promised) She accused him of breaking his marriage vows.
▪ exchange vows (=make promises to each other as part of a wedding ceremony) They wanted to exchange vows before their family and friends.
▪ renew your vows (=have a second wedding ceremony to repeat your promises) Fifty couples celebrated their golden weddings and renewed their vows at a cathedral service in Chicago.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + vow
▪ a solemn vow (=a very serious vow, which you must keep) He made a solemn vow that he would do everything he could to help her.
▪ marriage/wedding vows She wrote her own marriage vows.
▪ a holy/sacred vow When we get married in church we are making sacred vows.
■ phrases
▪ a vow of silence/poverty/celibacy etc People close to him have finally broken their vow of silence.
▪ be bound by a vow (=to have promised seriously to do something) She told him she was bound by a vow not to tell any other person.
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THESAURUS
▪ promise a statement that you will definitely do or provide something, which may not be reliable: ‘I’ll call you tomorrow.’ ‘Is that a promise?’ | Politicians are always making promises.
▪ pledge a public or official promise to do a particular thing in the future: The Government has fulfilled at least 50% of its election pledges. | We have received pledges of help from various organizations.
▪ vow a very serious promise to do something or not to do something that you choose to make: He made a vow never to drink alcohol again. | your marriage vows
▪ oath a formal promise, especially one that someone makes in a court of law: Witnesses swear a solemn oath to tell the truth. | Public officials must take an oath to support the US Constitution.
▪ undertaking a serious or public promise to do something, especially something difficult which needs a lot of effort or money: The police have given an undertaking to reduce street crime in the city centre. | He was made to sign a written undertaking that he would not go within a mile of her house.
▪ assurance a promise that something will happen or is true, made so that someone is less worried or more confident: You have my assurance that it won’t happen again. | The manager gave me his personal assurance that the goods would be delivered today.
▪ guarantee a very definite promise that something will happen. A guarantee is also a formal written promise by a company to repair or replace a product free if it has a fault within a fixed period of time.: With any diet, there’s no guarantee of success. | I’m afraid I can’t give you a 100% guarantee. | Is the camera still under guarantee (=within the period during which it can be repaired or replaced free)?