Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - promise

(promises, promising, promised) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If you promise that you will do something, you say to someone that you will definitely do it. The post office has promised to resume first class mail delivery to the area on Friday... He had promised that the rich and privileged would no longer get preferential treatment... Promise me you will not waste your time... ‘We’ll be back next year,’ he promised... ‘You promise?’—‘All right, I promise.’ VERB: V to-inf, V that, V n that, V with quote, V, also V n 2. If you promise someone something, you tell them that you will definitely give it to them or make sure that they have it. In 1920 the great powers promised them an independent state... The officers promise a return to multiparty rule. VERB: V n n, V n 3. A promise is a statement which you make to a person in which you say that you will definitely do something or give them something. If you make a promise, you should keep it... N-COUNT: oft N to-inf, N that 4. If a situation or event promises to have a particular quality or to be a particular thing, it shows signs that it will have that quality or be that thing. While it will be fun, the seminar also promises to be most instructive. VERB: V to-inf 5. If someone or something shows promise, they seem likely to be very good or successful. The boy first showed promise as an athlete in grade school. = potential N-UNCOUNT