# promise

/ˈpɹɑməs/ (US) · /pɹˈɒmɪs/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/promise
Updated: 2026-07-22

## Senses

### 1. to give your word

verb · CEFR A2

to tell someone that you will certainly do something or that something will happen.

For teachers: to commit to a specific course of action or outcome; often used ditransitively with an indirect object.

- He promised to call his mother as soon as he arrived at the hotel.
- The candidate promised to reform the tax system within the first hundred days of his administration, though skeptics questioned the feasibility of such a timeline.

### 2. to show potential

verb · CEFR B2

to give someone a reason to expect something good in the future.

For teachers: to provide grounds for expecting a particular, usually positive, outcome.

- The clear blue sky promised a beautiful day for the wedding.
- The early data from the clinical trials promised a significant breakthrough in the treatment of chronic respiratory conditions.

### 3. a vow or assurance

noun · CEFR A2

a statement that you will definitely do something.

For teachers: a declaration or assurance that one will do a particular thing or that a particular thing will happen.

- She made a promise to herself to exercise every morning.
- The diplomat emphasized that a broken promise could irreparably damage the fragile trust between the two neighbouring nations.

### 4. potential for success

noun · CEFR B1

signs that someone or something will be successful in the future.

For teachers: indication of future excellence or success; often used with 'show' or 'full of'.

- The young pianist shows great promise and might become famous one day.
- Despite his lack of formal training, the apprentice showed such promise that the master craftsman offered him a full partnership.

### 5. computing placeholder

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

a tool in computer coding that represents a result that is not ready yet.

For teachers: an object representing the eventual completion or failure of an asynchronous operation and its resulting value.

- The function returns a promise that resolves when the data finishes downloading.
- By chaining promises, the developer managed to handle multiple API requests without nesting callbacks into an unreadable structure.

Usage: Commonly used in JavaScript and other languages to handle tasks that take time, like loading data.

## Examples

- He made a promise to help me with my homework.
- The politician failed to keep her promise to lower taxes once she was elected to office.
- While the contract lacks a formal signature, the verbal promise made in front of witnesses may still hold weight in a small claims court.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.