insure
[in-shoor, -shur]
- to guarantee against loss or harm.
- to secure indemnity to or on, in case of loss, damage, or death.
- to issue or procure an insurance policy on or for.
- ensure(defs 1–3).
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- to issue or procure an insurance policy.
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Origin of insure
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for insure
Contemporary Examples
Proceeds from its North Sea drilling rigs will insure corruption and kleptocracy on a Nigerian scale.
Our two largest states, one working to insure its people and the other doing everything in its power to prevent that.
For example, over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported that Obamacare has done little to insure the uninsured.
As a freelance writer under the old dispensation, I had qualified as a Sole Proprietor and was able to insure both of us.
I practice true “health care,” as in going to the doctor when I am healthy to insure that I remain so.
Historical Examples
Then came the cartful of our dead, whom we were carrying with us to insure their decent burial.
Micah ClarkeArthur Conan Doyle
Not I, old gentleman; I've got too much respect for old age, I'll insure you.
The Politician Out-WittedSamuel Low
To insure that, he put that note with the other papers of the Company.
Cap'n Warren's WardsJoseph C. Lincoln
He says that I must choose a mate, to insure the stability of the royal house.
The Martian CabalRoman Frederick Starzl
The carbon should be moved around to insure a solid joint at all points.
The Automobile Storage BatteryO. A. Witte
insure
- (often foll by against) to guarantee or protect (against risk, loss, etc)we insured against disappointment by making an early reservation
- (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
- another word (esp US) for ensure (def. 1), ensure (def. 2)
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Also (rare) (for senses 1, 2): ensure
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for insure
v.
mid-15c., insuren, spelling variant of ensuren (see ensure). Took on its particular sense of "make safe against loss by payment of premiums" from mid-17c. (replacing assure in that meaning). Related: Insured; insuring.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper