underwrite
Americanverb (used with object)
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to write under or at the foot of, especially under other written matter.
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to sign one's name, as to a document.
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to show agreement with or to support by or as if by signing one's name to, as a statement or decision.
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to bind oneself to contribute a sum of money to (an undertaking).
Wealthy music lovers underwrote the experimental concerts.
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to guarantee the sale of (a security issue to be offered to the public for subscription).
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Insurance.
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to write one's name at the end of (a policy), thereby becoming liable in case of certain losses specified in the policy.
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to insure.
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to assume liability to the extent of (a specified sum) by way of insurance.
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to select or rate (risks) for insurance.
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verb (used without object)
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to underwrite something.
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to carry on the business of an underwriter.
verb
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finance to undertake to purchase at an agreed price any unsold portion of (a public issue of shares, etc)
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to accept financial responsibility for (a commercial project or enterprise)
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insurance
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to sign and issue (an insurance policy) thus accepting liability if specified losses occur
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to insure (a property or risk)
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to accept liability up to (a specified amount) in an insurance policy
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to write (words, a signature, etc) beneath (other written matter); subscribe
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to support or concur with (a decision, statement, etc) by or as if by signature
Etymology
Origin of underwrite
First recorded before 1400–50; late Middle English, translation of Latin subscrībere “to write underneath, sign, subscribe”; subscribe
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As public funding for higher education has eroded, universities have increasingly turned to wealthy donors to underwrite major projects and supplement budgets by endowing professorships and research centers.
From Salon
This upends the basic arrangement that underwrote great cities—what they are, how they work and who pays for them.
This compares with a $4.8 billion result for 2025, which it described on Friday as a record high and said reflects disciplined underwriting, strong investment returns and low large loss activity beyond the first quarter.
They said the fears surrounding Blue Owl aren’t tied to evidence of losses or poor underwriting, but rather to a misunderstanding.
Energy underwrites the ability of U.S. industry to produce weapons and the capability of the U.S. military to use them.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
