endorse

[en-dawrs]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR endorse ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), en·dorsed, en·dors·ing. Also indorse (for defs 1–6).

to approve, support, or sustain: to endorse a political candidate.

to designate oneself as payee of (a check) by signing, usually on the reverse side of the instrument.

to sign one's name on (a commercial document or other instrument).

to make over (a stated amount) to another as payee by one's endorsement.

to write (something) on the back of a document, paper, etc.: to endorse instructions; to endorse one's signature.

to acknowledge (payment) by placing one's signature on a bill, draft, etc.

noun

Heraldry. a narrow pale, about one quarter the usual width and usually repeated several times.

Origin of endorse

1350–1400; variant (with en- for in-) of earlier indorse < Medieval Latin indorsāre to endorse, equivalent to Latin in- in-² + -dorsāre, derivative of dorsum back; replacing endoss, Middle English endossen < Old French endosser, equivalent to en- en-¹ + -dosser, derivative of dos < Latin dorsum

Related formsen·dors·a·ble, adjectiveen·dors·er, en·dor·sor, nounen·dors·ing·ly, adverben·dor·sive, adjectivepre·en·dorse, verb (used with object), pre·en·dorsed, pre·en·dors·ing.re·en·dorse, verb (used with object), re·en·dorsed, re·en·dors·ing.sub·en·dorse, verb (used with object), sub·en·dorsed, sub·en·dors·ing.su·per·en·dorse, verb (used with object), su·per·en·dorsed, su·per·en·dors·ing.un·en·dors·a·ble, adjectiveun·en·dorsed, adjectivewell-en·dorsed, adjective

Can be confusedapprove endorse (see synonym study at approve)

Synonyms for endorse

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR endorse ON THESAURUS.COM

1. sanction, ratify, uphold, sustain, back, second.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for endorser

advocate, publicist, backer, sponsor, organizer, booster, advertiser, benefactor, patron, promoter, follower, ally, endorser, signatory, donor, hero, winner, challenger, champ, defender

Examples from the Web for endorser

Contemporary Examples of endorser

Hayworth has Rush Limbaugh—not as an endorser of his candidacy, at least not yet, but as a longtime McCain detractor.
The Thorn in McCain's Side
Lloyd Grove
February 17, 2010

Historical Examples of endorser

I am a follower of the old trails, an endorser of the old maxims.
The Iron Puddler
James J. Davis
Does the loser tell his friend, the endorser, that he has lost half of his fortune?
The Art of Money Getting
P. T. Barnum
He could borrow from the banks, with a good endorser, but what endorser was there good enough but John Folsom?
Warrior Gap
Charles King
My father at length became my endorser, and the bargain was signed and sealed.
Forty Years in the Wilderness of Pills and Powders
William A. Alcott
When I had recovered sufficiently, I gave my fictitious name and introduced the Colonel, as a sort of endorser for my statement.
The Boy Spy
Joseph Kerby

British Dictionary definitions for endorser

endorse

indorse

verb (tr)

to give approval or sanction to

to sign (one's name) on the back of (a cheque, etc) to specify oneself as payee

commerce

to sign the back of (a negotiable document) to transfer ownership of the rights to a specified payee
to specify (a designated sum) as transferable to another as payee

to write (a qualifying comment, recommendation, etc) on the back of a document

to sign (a document), as when confirming receipt of payment

mainly British to record (a conviction) on (a driving licence)

Derived Formsendorsable or indorsable, adjectiveendorser, endorsor, indorser or indorsor, noun

Word Origin for endorse

C16: from Old French endosser to put on the back, from en- 1 + dos back, from Latin dorsum

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

Word Origin and History for endorser

endorse

late 14c. endosse "alteration," from Old French endosser (12c.), literally "to put on back," from en- "put on" (see en- (1)) + dos "back," from Latin dossum, variant of dorsum.

Sense of "confirm, approve" (by signing on the back) is recorded in English first in 1847. Assimilated 16c. in form to Medieval Latin indorsare. Related: Endorsed; endorsing.

You can endorse, literally, a cheque or other papers, &, metaphorically, a claim or argument, but to talk of endorsing material things other than papers is a solecism. [Fowler]