guarantee

American  

[gar-uhn-tee] / ˌgær ənˈti /

noun

• guarantees
  plural

1. 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.

2. an assurance that another’s obligation will be fulfilled, or something presented as such security; guaranty.

3. something that assures a particular outcome or condition.

   Wealth is no guarantee of happiness.

4. a person who gives a guarantee or guaranty; guarantor.

5. a person to whom a guarantee is made.

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verb (used with object)

• guarantees,
  present (3rd person singular)
• guaranteed,
  past participle,  past
• guaranteeing
  present participle

1. to secure, as by giving or taking security.

   A credit card guarantees your reservation at the hotel.

2. to make oneself answerable for (something) on behalf of someone else who is primarily responsible.

   to guarantee the fulfillment of a contract.

3. to undertake to ensure for another, as rights or possessions.

   The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion.

4. to serve as a warrant or guaranty for.

5. to undertake to protect or indemnify.

   to guarantee a person against loss.

6. to undertake (to do something).

   I will guarantee to prove every word I stated.

7. to promise (usually followed by a clause as object).

   I guarantee that I'll be there.

guarantee British  

/ ˌɡærənˈtiː /

noun

1. a formal assurance, esp in writing, that a product, service, etc, will meet certain standards or specifications

2. law a promise, esp a collateral agreement, to answer for the debt, default, or miscarriage of another

3. 1. a person, company, etc, to whom a guarantee is made

   2. a person, company, etc, who gives a guarantee

4. a person who acts as a guarantor

5. something that makes a specified condition or outcome certain

6. a variant spelling of guaranty

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verb

1. (also tr) to take responsibility for (someone else's debts, obligations, etc)

2. to serve as a guarantee for

3. to secure or furnish security for

   a small deposit will guarantee any dress

4. to undertake to protect or keep secure, as against injury, loss, etc

5. to ensure

   good planning will guarantee success

6. (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

• nonguarantee
  noun
• preguarantee
  noun
• reguarantee
  noun
• superguarantee
  noun
• quasi-guaranteed
  adjective
• unguaranteed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• guarantees
  plural

Participles

• guaranteeing
  present
• guaranteed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• guarantee
  simple
• guarantees
  simple
• have guaranteed
  perfect
• has guaranteed
  perfect
• am guaranteeing
  progressive
• are guaranteeing
  progressive
• is guaranteeing
  progressive
• have been guaranteeing
  perfect progressive
• has been guaranteeing
  perfect progressive

Past

• guaranteed
  simple
• had guaranteed
  perfect
• was guaranteeing
  progressive
• were guaranteeing
  progressive
• had been guaranteeing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will guarantee
  simple
• will have guaranteed
  perfect
• will be guaranteeing
  progressive
• will have been guaranteeing
  perfect progressive

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!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

guarantee guarantees guaranteed guaranteeing

Of course, Mackey said, there’s no guarantee that the A.I. won’t go off the rails.

From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026

Records are no guarantee, especially in a developing field like taxes for influencers.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

Earlier this month, OpenAI also signed a 10-gigawatt data-center lease in Ohio with SoftBank’s SB Energy, which is partly backed by an Nvidia financial guarantee.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

"We will never give up. I can guarantee you that," Szoboszlai told Sky Sports.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

“It cannot guarantee that these ideas will stop at its borders.”

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

But Charter executives have discussed exiting that relationship, which guarantees the team about $200 million a year in revenue, according to people familiar with the company’s plans who were not authorized to comment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

The move will also have rattled the likes of Taiwan and Japan, which have long relied on US security guarantees in the region.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

She noted that Europe had long benefitted from "three pillars" -- a rules-based global order underpinned by US security guarantees, cheap energy and expanding global trade.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

Previous reports suggested Nvidia could provide $250 billion in guarantees for a 10-gigawatt data center.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

Sharing guarantees success because you’re acknowledging the importance of your network.

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali

In the article, entitled “The Arithmetic of Active Management,” Sharpe showed that active managers, on average, are guaranteed to lag the stock market.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

But alliances can withstand a lot of friction—physical proximity alone probably makes a wholesale U.S.-Canada divorce impossible—and escalation isn’t guaranteed.

From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026

Now, even if young adults pass with high grades and get a university degree, a bright future is not guaranteed.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

The business of sports has been great for owners, but isn’t guaranteed to last.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

It’s full of magic antiblast gas — guaranteed to save your bone marrow.

From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick

Research by one Bristol food writer has raised questions about transparency, with some creators guaranteeing positive coverage in advance and offering not to make clear their review was in exchange for a free meal.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play a pivotal role by buying up mortgages and packaging them to sell to investors, guaranteeing the investors payments even if borrowers default.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

It's not until 2030 that it seeks to achieve its mission of guaranteeing every young person a clear path to good jobs.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

"To guarantee freedom of navigation, one had to start by guaranteeing freedom of passage through the straits," Domergue said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026

This couldn’t happen again—I was lucky this time; he still remembered me, even if he couldn’t recall what I had done, but there was no guaranteeing that luck would hold.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken

Related Words

• agreement
• assurance
• certificate
• collateral
• contract
• deposit
• insurance
• security
• warranty