Dictionaries › English

underwrite

Pronunciation: /ˈʌndəɹaɪt/

The English word “underwrite” has 8 meanings listed here.

verb

  1. To write below or under; subscribe.
  2. To subscribe (a document, policy etc.) with one's name.
  3. To sign; to put one's name to.
  4. To agree to pay by signing one's name; subscribe.
  5. Specifically, to assume financial responsibility for something, and guarantee it against failure.
  6. To act as an underwriter.
  7. To support, lend support to, guarantee the basis of.
  8. To submit to; put up with.

Etymology

From Middle English underwriten, from Old English underwrītan (“to write at the foot of, write under, subscribe”). Compare Dutch onderschrijven (“to endorse”), German unterschreiben (“to sign; endorse”), Danish underskrive (“to sign; endorse”). By surface analysis, under- + write.

Keep exploring: in the interactive dictionary every word of a definition is a link. Open “underwrite” there

More English words

About this dictionary

The English dictionary on Glottosphere has 650,529 entries with a page. Browse the English dictionary.

Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.