guarantee
Americannoun
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guarantees
plural
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a promise or assurance, especially one in writing, that something is of specified quality, content, benefit, etc., or that it will perform satisfactorily for a given length of time.
a money-back guarantee.
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an assurance that another’s obligation will be fulfilled, or something presented as such security; guaranty.
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something that assures a particular outcome or condition.
Wealth is no guarantee of happiness.
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a person who gives a guarantee or guaranty; guarantor.
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a person to whom a guarantee is made.
verb (used with object)
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guarantees,
present (3rd person singular)
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guaranteed,
past participle, past
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guaranteeing
present participle
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to secure, as by giving or taking security.
A credit card guarantees your reservation at the hotel.
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to make oneself answerable for (something) on behalf of someone else who is primarily responsible.
to guarantee the fulfillment of a contract.
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to undertake to ensure for another, as rights or possessions.
The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion.
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to serve as a warrant or guaranty for.
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to undertake to protect or indemnify.
to guarantee a person against loss.
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to undertake (to do something).
I will guarantee to prove every word I stated.
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to promise (usually followed by a clause as object).
I guarantee that I'll be there.
noun
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a formal assurance, esp in writing, that a product, service, etc, will meet certain standards or specifications
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law a promise, esp a collateral agreement, to answer for the debt, default, or miscarriage of another
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a person, company, etc, to whom a guarantee is made
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a person, company, etc, who gives a guarantee
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a person who acts as a guarantor
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something that makes a specified condition or outcome certain
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a variant spelling of guaranty
verb
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(also tr) to take responsibility for (someone else's debts, obligations, etc)
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to serve as a guarantee for
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to secure or furnish security for
a small deposit will guarantee any dress
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to undertake to protect or keep secure, as against injury, loss, etc
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to ensure
good planning will guarantee success
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(may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to promise or make certain
Usage
What does guarantee mean? A guarantee is a promise or assurance, especially one that is written or legally binding, that something is of a stated quality or will perform as stated, such as a guarantee that a car you purchase will operate correctly. A guarantee is also an assurance of a particular outcome or condition, as in Weather predictions are not guarantees. Weather often changes quickly. To guarantee something is to secure something, as a ticket guarantees entry to a movie showing. As well, to guarantee is to promise to do something, usually by signing a legally binding agreement, as in The company guaranteed me a job when I signed the contract. Example: I guarantee you will love your purchase and will give you a full refund if you don’t.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonguaranteenoun
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preguaranteenoun
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reguaranteenoun
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superguaranteenoun
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quasi-guaranteedadjective
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unguaranteedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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guaranteesimple
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guaranteessimple
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have guaranteedperfect
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has guaranteedperfect
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am guaranteeingprogressive
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are guaranteeingprogressive
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is guaranteeingprogressive
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have been guaranteeingperfect progressive
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has been guaranteeingperfect progressive
Past
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guaranteedsimple
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had guaranteedperfect
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was guaranteeingprogressive
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were guaranteeingprogressive
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had been guaranteeingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of guarantee
First recorded in 1670–80; alteration of guaranty
Explanation
To guarantee is to promise or to a make binding agreement. If a baseball player guarantees his team will win the World Series, he better not lead the league in strikeouts. Guarantee is a word that is both a noun and a verb: the noun means "a binding agreement" and the verb is the act of making that agreement. This word seems to have come from garante, the Spanish word for "protect" and it's related to the Old French word warrant, which means "to authorize." Today, we often come across guarantee in advertisements, and you might wonder how they might guarantee to make your social life better if your teeth are whiter!
Vocabulary lists containing guarantee
Declaration of the Rights of Woman (1791)
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Frindle
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"The Constitution"
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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:
The war in Ukraine has been in a brutal stalemate for several months, but there’s no guarantee this will continue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
There’s no written, enforceable guarantee anywhere I can find that Ellison would follow through.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
That’s not necessarily a problem for the lender, although nor does it guarantee approval.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
Coe accepted before the weekend that there would be "no guarantee we're going get everything right" and said a "slightly different format" might be considered in future.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
He knew the fragile work permit was no guarantee of safety during the roundups.
From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson
In his view, it would take a globally coordinated agreement involving government guarantees to slow model development if needed to ensure AI safety.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Germany's finance minister on Monday met the UniCredit CEO to seek guarantees over the future of Commerzbank, as the Italian lender gears up to complete a takeover of its German rival.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
There are no guarantees in golf, but in Woad, Nadaud, Lopez Ramirez and Rhodes Europe appear to have an exciting nucleus for the trophy defence at Valhalla in 2028.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Still, there’s no magic number for the core CPI that guarantees the Fed’s next move — and there’s lots of moving parts.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
“No guarantees she'll remember you, or speak, but she's having quite a good day. See that yellow building, out the back, just through them trees? That's us.”
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
That guaranteed the teams with revenue, with brokers benefiting from a markup for popular games but taking the risk that tickets to less popular games would sell at a loss, or not at all.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
Washington had resisted, partly because it supplies F-35s to its ally Israel, which is guaranteed under US law to receive top-of-the-range American weapons compared with those its regional neighbours can access.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Instead Rome should define "how many electric furnaces are needed, what public investments are planned and -- consequently -- what level of employment must be guaranteed following the sale".
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
But even that isn’t guaranteed, since determining what qualifies for the exemption is left to the commission.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
But there is no recipe for disaster so guaranteed as my mother clothes shopping for me.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
And short of guaranteeing that someone gets slapped across the face every year, count on the Oscars to try to regain its distinction while courting viewers however possible.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
Larry Ellison is personally guaranteeing the equity needed for Paramount to buy Warner Bros.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
And, if we’re lucky, guaranteeing safe communities may help us rebuild institutional trust from the bottom up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
The transition talks between the interim government in Caracas and the opposition are backed by the United States, which says they will focus on rebuilding democratic institutions, strengthening the electorate and guaranteeing political participation.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
And there's no guaranteeing they'll be so pleasing to the eye.
From "How It Went Down" by Kekla Magoon
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.
