entrust
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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(usually foll by with) to invest or charge (with a duty, responsibility, etc)
-
(often foll by to) to put into the care or protection of someone
Usage
It is usually considered incorrect to talk about entrusting someone to do something: the army cannot be trusted (not entrusted ) to carry out orders
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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entrustsimple
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entrustssimple
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have entrustedperfect
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has entrustedperfect
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are entrustingprogressive
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am entrustingprogressive
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is entrustingprogressive
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have been entrustingperfect progressive
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has been entrustingperfect progressive
Past
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entrustedsimple
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had entrustedperfect
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was entrustingprogressive
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were entrustingprogressive
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had been entrustingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of entrust
Explanation
To entrust is to give someone a responsibility you assume she will fulfill. If you entrust someone with the task of getting you to school on time, make sure she’s punctual. To entrust is to let someone take care of something for you because you believe she will protect it. It could be a duty or a thing — you might entrust a nursing home with the care of your parents or entrust an accountant with your finances. Entrust is a verb that needs an object, so you always entrust with or to something. If a friend entrusts you with a secret, she trusts you not to tell.
Vocabulary lists containing entrust
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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.
Entrust, which has more than 3,100 employees in more than 40 locations across North America, serves the utility and infrastructure end markets.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 26, 2026
Entrust their preservation to a novice or lower-cost taxidermist, and you risk losing some of the elements that made your pet who they were.
From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2025
After Entrust was sold, you had a noncompete clause.
From Washington Post • May 30, 2015
"Third-party" administrators, such as Guidant Financial and Entrust Group, maintain records but place accounts at a different institution.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2012
Entrust to their care all beautiful music and poetry and prohibit the profane, vulgar, the curious, gaping herd from even so much as a glance at these treasures.
From Old Fogy His Musical Opinions and Grotesques by Huneker, James
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.
