escrow

[ noun es-kroh, ih-skroh; verb ih-skroh, es-kroh ]
See synonyms for escrow on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a contract, deed, bond, or other written agreement deposited with a third person, by whom it is to be delivered to the grantee or promisee on the fulfillment of some condition.

verb (used with object)
  1. to place in escrow: The home seller agrees to escrow the sum of $1000 with his attorney.

Idioms about escrow

  1. in escrow, in the keeping of a third person for delivery to a given party upon the fulfillment of some condition.

Origin of escrow

1
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Anglo-French escro(u)we, from Old French escro(u)e; see scroll

Words Nearby escrow

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

How to use escrow in a sentence

  • The president said that a BP “evergreen” escrow would be set up for claims and will be managed by a third party.

    How It Played in the Gulf | Rick Outzen | June 16, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • "An escrow of a billion-plus is only a down payment of the potential costs," said Miller.

    BP's $25 Million Insult | Rick Outzen | May 4, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Understand—all money that comes from the mine is held in escrow until this case is decided.

    The Cross-Cut | Courtney Ryley Cooper
  • It must still remain in escrow as the bond of Harry until the case was decided, and that might mean years.

    The Cross-Cut | Courtney Ryley Cooper
  • This would have meant forfeiting her marriage settlement and the sum that was in escrow.

    The Indulgence of Negu Mah | Robert Andrew Arthur

British Dictionary definitions for escrow

escrow

/ (ˈɛskrəʊ, ɛˈskrəʊ) law /


noun
  1. money, goods, or a written document, such as a contract bond, delivered to a third party and held by him pending fulfilment of some condition

  2. the state or condition of being an escrow (esp in the phrase in escrow)

verb(tr)
  1. to place (money, a document, etc) in escrow

Origin of escrow

1
C16: from Old French escroe, of Germanic origin; see screed, shred, scroll

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 escrow

escrow

[ (es-kroh) ]


The condition of being ineffective until certain conditions are met. For example, money inherited by a minor might be held in escrow until the heir reaches a certain age. Homeowners with mortgages frequently pay money for insurance and taxes on their home into an escrow account each month. The holder of the mortgage then pays the insurance and tax bills out of the escrow account when the bills are due.

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.