underwriter
Americannoun
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a person or company that underwrites policies of insurance or carries on insurance as a business.
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a person or company that underwrites shares or bonds.
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a person or organization that finances something; backer.
the underwriters of the ballet company.
noun
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a person or enterprise that underwrites public issues of shares, bonds, etc
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a person or enterprise that underwrites insurance policies
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an employee or agent of an insurance company who assesses risks and determines the premiums payable
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Etymology
Origin of underwriter
First recorded in 1610–20; underwrite + -er 1
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.
While impressive, the underwriter fees get split up across the banks and aren’t the real money-maker.
From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026
Chubb “will act as the lead underwriter issuing policies for eligible vessels.”
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
Bellis, who works as a mortgage underwriter, wanted to be closer to her parents because she has a child and needed more space.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 14, 2026
Jefferies Financial Group, the lead underwriter on the bond offering, boasted at the time that it was one of the biggest junk-rated deals ever completed for a retailer.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 11, 2026
We want an underwriter, not a philanthropist—some one more interested in keeping down the losses of the Guardian Fire Insurance Company than those of the United States of America.
From White Ashes by Kennedy, Sidney R. (Sidney Robinson)
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.
