underwrite

verb

ˈən-dər-ˌrīt How to pronounce underwrite (audio)
Definition of underwritenext
as in to fund
to provide money for a university willing to underwrite an archaeological expedition

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of underwrite Kirk even suggested that large corporations might underwrite the televising of executions to raise money for public coffers. — Odette Yousef, NPR, 15 Oct. 2026 Anthropic, a powerhouse AI company that could be valued at $2 trillion, is expected to go public this year, creating another major opportunity for Wall Street banks to haul in fees from underwriting and trading activity. — John Towfighi, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026 Regency banknotes were essentially promissory notes underwritten by a specific bank. — Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2026 The environment creates the opportunity; underwriting determines who captures it. — Wesley Carpenter, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for underwrite
Recent Examples of Synonyms for underwrite
  1. fund
  2. finance
  3. subsidize
Verb
  • Ford Motor Company has its own charitable arm, Ford Philanthropy, which is funded by the company’s earnings.
    — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
  • On Jathar’s first visit, those organizational talking points included advocating for funding smart grids, authorizing Department of Energy research, and investing in STEM education.
    — Lucas Laursen, IEEE Spectrum, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of fund
Verb
  • But a dollar paid in tax cannot also finance an engineer’s salary or a new production line.
    — Rick Lazio, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The filing shed more light on Meta's plan to create a new class of non-voting stock, Class C, in January to help finance investments and acquisitions without diluting CEO Mark Zuckerberg's voting control.
    — Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of finance
Verb
  • Planning Commissioner Chris Salley asked if the city would conduct a fiscal impact study on each project where these incentives were offered and how would the city decide which project to subsidize.
    — Marc Hayot, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Governments could increase birth rates by requiring insurers to cover fertility treatments and subsidizing their costs.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of subsidize

Browse Nearby Words

underworlds
underwrite
underwriter
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Underwrite.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/underwrite. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of shindig

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All