underwrite
Americanverb (used with object)
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to write under or at the foot of, especially under other written matter.
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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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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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are underwritingprogressive
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am 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
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had underwrittenperfect
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was underwritingprogressive
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were underwritingprogressive
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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.
Vocabulary lists containing underwrite
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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.
The big investment banks are gearing up for the biggest IPO in history as they underwrite Elon Musk’s rocket-launch company.
From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026
The government has taken action to shore up supply, including releasing some of the oil held in emergency storage and a new law formalizing its ability to underwrite additional cargoes of crude and oil products.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
Wells Fargo Chief Financial Officer Michael Santomassimo told analysts in November that “we underwrite every one” of the roughly 2,800 or 3,000 loans in the portfolio financing private-credit firms lending to middle-market companies.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
Australia's national parliament on Monday introduced a bill to give powers to the government to underwrite the purchase of shiploads of fuel that will add to supply in Australia.
From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026
Somebody called and asked about ordering an ID card, the cottage industry that at fifty bucks a pop will help underwrite their contemplated move to Chicago.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
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.
