insure
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
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(often foll by against) to guarantee or protect (against risk, loss, etc)
we insured against disappointment by making an early reservation
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(often foll by against) to issue (a person) with an insurance policy or take out an insurance policy (on)
his house was heavily insured against fire
after all his car accidents the company refuses to insure him again
Usage
What's the difference between insure, ensure, and assure? Insure typically means to guarantee against loss or harm or, more specifically, to cover with insurance. Ensure most commonly means to guarantee or make certain, as in Working hard ensures success. Assure usually means to tell someone something with confidence or to cause someone to know something with certainty—it often means the same thing as reassure. It’s no wonder there’s confusion between the three words—all three are verbs that are based on the Latin root sēcūrus, meaning safe. Making things even more confusing is the fact that ensure and insure can be used interchangeably in most senses. Still, insure is much more commonly used in the context of insurance, like car insurance, health insurance, and homeowner’s insurance. These kinds of insurance insure you—they give you coverage that provides you with compensation in certain cases and situations. Ensure is typically used in a more general way in the context of actions that are done to make sure that something happens or is the case, as in We need to ensure that the meeting starts on time. Assure is always used in the context of communication, especially in situations in which someone is trying to make someone else feel better about something. It’s used in the phrase rest assured. Here’s a quick cheat sheet to remember the most common uses of each word:insure = cover with insuranceensure = make sureassure = reassureHere’s an example of insure, ensure, and assure used correctly in a sentence. Example: She assured me that the company has ensured that every employee has the opportunity to be insured. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between insure, ensure, and assure.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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insurabilitynoun
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overinsureverb (used with object)
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preinsureverb (used with object)
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insurableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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insuresimple
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insuressimple
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have insuredperfect
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has insuredperfect
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am insuringprogressive
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are insuringprogressive
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is insuringprogressive
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have been insuringperfect progressive
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has been insuringperfect progressive
Past
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insuredsimple
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had insuredperfect
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was insuringprogressive
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were insuringprogressive
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had been insuringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of insure
1400–50; late Middle English; variant of ensure
Explanation
To insure is to guarantee or protect the monetary value of something with, as you might imagine, insurance. We insure, or protect, our homes and cars and other valuables against loss or damage from accidents by taking out insurance policies. To insure is to pay an insurance company regularly so that if something goes wrong, they’ll help cover the costs. Although it’s certainly reassuring to have insurance, the word insure always has a financial aspect.
Vocabulary lists containing insure
Preamble to the U.S. Constitution (1787)
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Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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Preamble to the U.S. 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:
"It's absolutely crucial electric vehicles become cheaper to insure," insists Steve Fowler, co-founder of the car review website Carblah.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
"The state cannot insure citizens and companies against every external crisis," he said.
From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026
My brothers and I are willing to split the cost of life insurance for her, if we can find a policy that would insure her.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 14, 2026
Before you switch to an EV, make sure you know what it will cost to insure it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
Because if they did open stores, no one would insure them.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-backed bank insures deposits of up to $250,000 per individual.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 16, 2026
Cigna, which owns its own PBM, will automatically make this change for all the customers it fully insures in 2027.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
So does the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, which insures anyone with a U.S. bank account.
From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2025
The need and the opportunity matched up, and Morey’s insurance company still insures Japanese communities in California and Hawaii.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2025
This important innovation places the standard of the published material very high, and it insures accuracy and dependability.
From Aviation Engines Design?Construction?Operation and Repair by Pag?, Victor Wilfred
Most people who take out federally insured reverse mortgages or HECMs cannot owe more than the home’s value.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026
His perceived inclination to stem market panic earned a moniker, the “Greenspan put”—as if the Fed itself was a put option that insured investors against losses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
He was the sole insured driver of the vehicle, and only for "social, domestic and pleasure purposes".
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026
California has tried to keep people insured by using state tax money to fill in the gap for lower-income families.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
“I hope your birds were insured, Popper,” he said.
From "Mr. Popper's Penguins" by Florence Atwater and Richard Atwater
The actual financial benefits depend on whether you are insuring your car, your home or your life — and whether the potential long-term gains outweigh the higher upfront costs.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 16, 2026
The cost of insuring against a CoreWeave default has dropped sharply, with spreads on the company’s five-year credit default swaps falling 23% this year as of Thursday, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026
“This makes insuring a mobile home somewhat optional. Other than liability and contents coverage, you might consider just having a reserve fund of what you estimate it would cost to replace.”
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 28, 2026
The cost of insuring Qatar’s debt is still cheaper than what it takes to insure Israeli or Saudi debt, reflecting its massive sovereign-wealth and foreign-currency reserves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026
He stopped registering and insuring the family car.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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.
