entrust
Americanverb (used with object)
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entrusts,
present (3rd person singular)
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entrusted,
past participle, past
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entrusting
present participle
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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am entrustingprogressive
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are 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.
See Examples For:
Some takeaways from Elm as we entrust more of our lives to AI: The models understood better than most humans how to size simple bets like coin flips.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
I vowed to entrust the job to our electrician if I could ever extricate myself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
Murrin’s case highlights pitfalls that lurk when people entrust someone with their taxes, according to Olson.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 27, 2026
But his absence left USC to entrust defensive line coach Eric Henderson to step into a role he wasn’t expecting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2025
You entrust some money to someone who holds a stall in the marketplace.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
It added: "Leadership in football is not a possession. It is not about holding - or demanding - power to be held. It is a duty of service to the football family that entrusts it."
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Constitution entrusts Congress with the power to “declare war.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026
Simply put, the tax code touches on every aspect of American life, and we need a well-run IRS to ensure that the policies Congress enacts and entrusts to the IRS are properly administered.
From Slate ● Jan. 29, 2025
That’s especially true for the police to whom the public entrusts great power.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 6, 2023
"He entrusts some small matters to us, to lighten his load."
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Posting on social media, he urged citizens to "remain peaceful, patient and patriotic as we await the official outcome from those entrusted with managing the vote".
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
"When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned," the letter read.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
The World Cup semifinal — one of the biggest matches a referee can officiate — had just been entrusted to the Salvadoran.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
“We are honored to be entrusted as the next stewards of the Seattle Seahawks,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Reverend had entrusted me with adult-size jobs, and my grandfather had instilled within me long ago a deep sense of sacred honor in doing God’s work.
From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
To do that, she has to leave home, separating herself from her upbringing and entrusting SaraLee to her family’s care.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026
Arteta has no hesitation entrusting Heinze with such key tasks.
From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026
As these concerns mount, few in the industry have addressed the character of their AI models in quite the same way as 5-year-old Anthropic: by entrusting a single person with so much of the task.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026
He flies around Texas in a private jet, but it belongs to the much wealthier people entrusting him to handle their business.
From Salon ● Nov. 16, 2025
After entrusting my papers to Peter’s care, I went back downstairs.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
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.
