underwrite
Americanverb (used with object)
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underwrites,
present (3rd person singular)
-
underwrote,
past
-
underwritten,
past participle
-
underwriting
present participle
-
to write under or at the foot of, especially under other written matter.
-
to sign one's name, as to a document.
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to show agreement with or to support by or as if by signing one's name to, as a statement or decision.
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to bind oneself to contribute a sum of money to (an undertaking).
Wealthy music lovers underwrote the experimental concerts.
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to guarantee the sale of (a security issue to be offered to the public for subscription).
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Insurance.
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to write one's name at the end of (a policy), thereby becoming liable in case of certain losses specified in the policy.
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to insure.
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to assume liability to the extent of (a specified sum) by way of insurance.
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to select or rate (risks) for insurance.
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verb (used without object)
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underwrites,
present (3rd person singular)
-
underwrote,
past
-
underwritten,
past participle
-
underwriting
present participle
-
to underwrite something.
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to carry on the business of an underwriter.
verb
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finance to undertake to purchase at an agreed price any unsold portion of (a public issue of shares, etc)
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to accept financial responsibility for (a commercial project or enterprise)
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insurance
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to sign and issue (an insurance policy) thus accepting liability if specified losses occur
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to insure (a property or risk)
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to accept liability up to (a specified amount) in an insurance policy
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-
to write (words, a signature, etc) beneath (other written matter); subscribe
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to support or concur with (a decision, statement, etc) by or as if by signature
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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underwritesimple
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underwritessimple
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have underwrittenperfect
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has underwrittenperfect
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am underwritingprogressive
-
are underwritingprogressive
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is underwritingprogressive
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have been underwritingperfect progressive
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has been underwritingperfect progressive
Past
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underwrotesimple
-
had underwrittenperfect
-
was underwritingprogressive
-
were underwritingprogressive
-
had been underwritingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of underwrite
First recorded before 1400–50; late Middle English, translation of Latin subscrībere “to write underneath, sign, subscribe”; see origin at subscribe
Explanation
To underwrite is to insure or promise to be financially responsible in case of loss or damage. An insurance agent can underwrite your renter's insurance policy, which protects you if there's a fire or robbery, for example. Insurance companies can underwrite, estimating the value of a life or property, and so can large banks — when a bank underwrites a loan, it means they carefully check the borrower's credit history. The word underwrite comes from the Old English underwritan, "write at the foot of," and originally is exactly what underwriters did, signing their names at the bottom of an assessment of risk, promising to pay in case of disaster in exchange for a set amount of money.
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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:
Paris didn’t underwrite insurance for that Olympics because of a substantial increase in cost that followed Tokyo’s Covid-driven losses in 2020, according to industry trade reports.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
In July, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a new legal obligation for "large-scale" data centres to underwrite power supplies, limit water use, and pay for any extra water infrastructure needed.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
"Breaking this cycle demands action on two fronts," the report said, including "disrupting the financial flows that now underwrite an insurgency".
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
“We would use compute optionality as a reason to own the AI infrastructure play in Meta, but we would not underwrite a ‘full blown’ hyperscaler compute annuity stream,” Mahaney wrote.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Luckily, Simba Quix was still willing to underwrite my expenses, and I was able to continue playing tennis each afternoon, instead of being out working to pay my way through school.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
Democracy is the heart of our nation’s constitutional regime, and its health underwrites the Constitution’s own vitality.
From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026
But I doubt a mere 20% fall would be enough, and whether it underwrites the economy with stocks down 30%, 40% or 50%, it will come too late for those caught up in a crash.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
Carvana underwrites its own loans, giving it an advantage to used car salesmen, reflected in its cars worth $500 to $1000 versus rivals after reconditioning, helped by its scale, Bellas said.
From Barron's ● May 13, 2026
“Affirm underwrites every application and we only approve people for what we believe they can responsibly afford to repay as Affirm never charges any late or hidden fees. We’re approaching this use case thoughtfully.”
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 13, 2026
His Majesty underwrites the Scud, brother, and I am responsible for the lives of my command.
From Pathfinder; or, the inland sea by James Fenimore Cooper
The Insolvency Service, a branch of the Department of Business and Trade, ran the company and underwrote its losses after it collapsed in 2019.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
For more than a decade, she covered consumer lending broadly, with a focus on how lenders underwrote loans and borrowers' ability to repay them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026
In late October, brokerage industry regulator Finra started conducting a “review of firm practices” at the multiple firms that underwrote small-cap foreign IPOs between 2023 and September of this year.
From Barron's ● Dec. 3, 2025
Perhaps Wilson’s closest confidant was Beverly Hills philanthropist Betty Freeman, who underwrote several of Wilson’s productions, including “Einstein on the Beach,” the opera he created with Philip Glass.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2025
A venerable bank underwrote the construction of the new meeting hall.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
He is so underwritten that it’s baffling why an army falls into line behind him given that he boasts no leadership or military experience.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
The district letter alleged Carvalho’s undisclosed travel costs were underwritten by education companies that included Scholastic, for a 2022 trip to a board of directors meeting and another event in 2023.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
Insurers have been buying private credit underwritten by their new owners or issued by a company controlled by them.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
Alphabet said it plans to issue $30 billion in concurrent underwritten public offerings consisting of $15 billion of mandatory convertible preferred stock and $15 billion in its class A and class C common equity.
From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026
This prophecy is underwritten by the tendency of the rich to do this already.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
The underwriting business follows Plaid’s model of focusing on business-to-business relationships with a goal of improving consumers’ experience in the financial world, Perret said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
This will mean changing their operating models and the interest rates they charge, as well as using technology to improve efficiency in operations, underwriting and service.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
JPMorgan was interested in discussing underwriting partnerships on the United Airlines cards, some of the people said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
Twenty-two Wall Street banks collected $500 million in fees for underwriting, marketing and allocating shares in the SpaceX IPO, which priced the stock at $135 and raised $75 billion, a regulatory filing shows.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
Much of the rest went to underwriting the publication of books that few cared to own.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
