actuary

[ ak-choo-er-ee ]
See synonyms for actuary on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural ac·tu·ar·ies.
  1. Insurance. a person who computes premium rates, dividends, risks, etc., according to probabilities based on statistical records.

  2. (formerly) a registrar or clerk.

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Origin of actuary

1
First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin āctuārius “shorthand writer, clerk,” variant (with u of the action noun āctus act) of āctārius (āct(a) “deeds, documents” + -ārius -ary)

Other words from actuary

  • ac·tu·ar·i·al [ak-choo-air-ee-uhl], /ˌæk tʃuˈɛər i əl/, ac·tu·ar·i·an, adjective

Words Nearby actuary

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use actuary in a sentence

  • Or we may illustrate by the difference between the auditor and an actuary in an insurance company.

  • What actuary, he asks contemptuously, can appraise the value of a man's opinions?

    Res Judicat | Augustine Birrell
  • Mrs. Paine complaining because she was concerned; she is the daughter of an insurance actuary.

    Warren Commission (2 of 26): Hearings Vol. II (of 15) | The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy

British Dictionary definitions for actuary

actuary

/ (ˈæktʃʊərɪ) /


nounplural -aries
  1. a person qualified to calculate commercial risks and probabilities involving uncertain future events, esp in such contexts as life assurance

Origin of actuary

1
C16: (meaning: registrar): from Latin āctuārius one who keeps accounts, from actum public business, and acta documents, deeds. See act, -ary

Derived forms of actuary

  • actuarial (ˌæktʃʊˈɛərɪəl), adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for actuary

actuary

[ (ak-chooh-er-ee) ]


A mathematician who uses statistics to calculate insurance premiums.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.