actuary

noun

ac·​tu·​ary ˈak-chə-ˌwer-ē 

-shə-,

-ˌwe-rē-

plural actuaries

1

obsolete : clerk, registrar

2

: a person who calculates insurance and annuity premiums, reserves, and dividends

Examples of actuary in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The insurance actuaries say extreme weather and rising repair costs due to inflation are reasons for the rate hikes. —Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 4 Aug. 2025

Now the insurance company takes a major loss even though the actuary's predictions were quite reasonable based on the data. —Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 21 July 2025

The insurance company's actuary may look at a bunch of data, not the least of which being the frequency of hurricanes, and make the prediction that only one major hurricane would hit the sunshine state every 10 years. —Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 21 July 2025

Meanwhile, the consumer group’s own actuaries prepared a simulation of the State Farm General Insurance Company’s earnings from premiums and projected losses from recent wildfires. —Rukmini Callimachi, New York Times, 14 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin āctuārius "shorthand writer, keeper of accounts," alteration (with -u- from the u-stem action noun āctus) of *āctārius, from āctum "public transaction, record" + -ārius -ary entry 1 — more at act entry 1

First Known Use

1570, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for actuary

• antiquary
• bolsheviki
• calliope
• chelicerae
• covenantee
• cruciferae
• diastole
• distributee
• hyperbole
• interviewee
• origami
• phonology

Kids Definition

actuary

noun

ac·​tu·​ary ˈak-chə-ˌwer-ē 

-shə-

plural actuaries

: a person who calculates insurance premiums and dividends

actuarial

ˌak-chə-ˈwer-ē-əl

adjective

Legal Definition

actuary

noun

ac·​tu·​ary ˈak-chə-ˌwer-ē, -shə- 

plural actuaries

: a person who calculates insurance and annuity premiums, reserves, and dividends