hypothecate
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to pledge to a creditor as security without delivering over; mortgage.
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to put in pledge by delivery, as stocks given as security for a loan.
verb (used with or without object)
verb
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(tr) law to pledge (personal property or a ship) as security for a debt without transferring possession or title
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to allocate the revenue raised by a tax for a specified purpose See also bottomry
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of hypothecate1
1675–85; < Medieval Latin hypothēcātus, past participle of hypothēcāre. See hypothec, -ate 1
Origin of hypothecate2
First recorded in 1905–10; from Greek hypothḗk(ē) “suggestion, counsel” (from hypotithénai “to assume, suppose”; see hypo- ( def. ), thesis ( def. )) + -ate 1
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.
But previous attempts to "hypothecate" - or earmark - National Insurance contributions for specific public services have been abandoned.
From BBC • Mar. 13, 2024
If they had no property real or personal to hypothecate, they could borrow on their personal credit only from usurers, who charged 20% and more interest.
From Time Magazine Archive
The acreage alone was to cost him a thousand; no telling what the drainage would cost, but whatever the figure there would not be profit enough to hypothecate.
From Young Wallingford by Chester, George Randolph
For it must be clearly understood that Paul is not asking us to fancy, or imagine, or hypothecate.
From The Theology of Holiness by Clark, Dougan
Just hypothecate ten thousand of those Union Cordage shares and five thousand Western Trolley, and buy Consolidated on a twenty per cent margin.
From The Spenders A Tale of the Third Generation by Wilson, Harry Leon
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.
