insure
Americanverb
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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
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.
Melvoin’s stated goal is to insure that all public schools in L.A. serve their students well and that charters and district-operated schools can co-exist beneficially.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
"The state cannot insure citizens and companies against every external crisis," he said.
From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026
Julian Gold says he's struggled to insure his guinea pigs because the small mammals are classed as exotic pets and therefore have higher premiums.
From BBC • Apr. 21, 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
If only she had worn a talisman to insure her long life.
From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord
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.
