underwrite
verb
, ˈən-də-, ˌən-dər-ˈrīt, ˌən-də-\
, ˈən-də- , ˌən-dər-ˈrōt , ˌən-də- \;
underwritten\ ˈən-dər-ˌri-tᵊn
, ˈən-də- , ˌən-dər-ˈri-tᵊn , ˌən-də- \;
underwriting\ ˈən-dər-ˌrī-tiŋ
, ˈən-də- , ˌən-dər-ˈrī- , ˌən-də- \
Definition of underwrite
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Synonyms & Antonyms for underwrite
Synonyms
bankroll, capitalize, endow, finance, fund, stake, subsidize
Antonyms
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Examples of underwrite in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Travel insurance is an actual insurance product underwritten by large insurance companies and regulated by state insurance agencies. — Christopher Elliott, USA TODAY, "What's the difference between travel insurance and trip 'protection'?," 14 Aug. 2019 Mahlkow and his fellow co-founders attended German private schools where ISAs are far more common, and collected European data to underwrite the ISA investments in the US market. — Michael J. Coren, Quartz, "Startups want to turn your tuition into the next asset class. What could go wrong?," 22 Aug. 2019 Founded in 2000, L.E.A.F. has awarded nearly $4 million to campuses in Lamar CISD to underwrite educational projects. — Staff Report, Houston Chronicle, "Johnson Development communities donate $17,000 benefiting LCISD students," 2 Aug. 2019 But even if that’s the case, MGO-Ello argues that its early-entrant experience in the industry will give it an advantage over firms like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley that have massive investor networks and the ability to underwrite large deals. — Craig Giammona, BostonGlobe.com, "Cannabis draws more US bankers as deals flow away from Canada," 23 July 2019 Today, companies are increasingly borrowing straight from loan funds, without hiring a bank to underwrite and place the debt. — Liz Hoffman, WSJ, "Giant Investors Are Coming After One of Wall Street’s Cash Cows," 26 June 2019 Last month the museum happily unveiled a $10-million gift from Carolyn Powers, president of its board of trustees, to underwrite five years of free museum admission starting later this year. — Christopher Knight, latimes.com, "MOCA on the rebound? Three strong shows and free entry are welcome signs of change," 12 June 2019 Later, Citizen for Animal Protection presented the Lance McCullers Foundation, which invests time and resources into pet rescue, adoption and shelters, with a $25,000 check underwritten by fellow animal lovers Julie and Brook Brookshire. — Amber Elliott, Houston Chronicle, "Kate Upton sighting, rescue pets and Astros stars raise $400K at Tootsies in River Oaks," 14 June 2019 The day, underwritten by Luzianne Tea, will offer visitors a chance to explore some of the museum’s collection that is related to Chase and Dooky Chase’s restaurant, including artwork. — Ann Maloney, nola.com, "Food museum president starts petition to name Lee Circle after Leah Chase," 6 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'underwrite.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for underwrite
underwrite
verbFinancial Definition of underwrite
What It Is
Underwriting is the process that a lender or other financial service uses to assess the creditworthiness or risk of a potential customer.
Underwriting also refers to an investment banker's process of packaging and selling a security on behalf of a client.
How It Works
Underwriting refers to the structured process used by financial service companies, such as banks, investors, or insurers, to determine and price the risk from a potential client. The underwriting process is a detailed and systematic analysis of a potential borrower's credit-worthiness, including employment history, salary, financial statements and performance, publicly available information, and independent credit reports. The underwriting process is intended to determine the credit needs, the quality of the collateral assets to be used to support the borrowing, and the borrower's ability to repay the debt. Upon completion of a formal underwriting process and a summary presented to a credit committee within the lender, the lender will either approve or reject the request for a loan.
Similarly, an insurance company will evaluate the risks of a potential candidate for insurance, based on a variety of actuarial factors. The bottom line from such an underwriting process is to price the insurance in accordance with its associated risk.
In securities trading, underwriting also includes assessing the risk and pricing the security accordingly. However, the formal underwriting process also involves agreeing to buy the security (by the underwriter) and then selling the security for a profit. The underwriter effectively takes a risk by agreeing to buy the security at the established price. In most instances, underwriters will line up buyers for the securities before they take on the security, so that it can "flip" the security to the buyer immediately.
Why It Matters
Underwriting is a critical step in the credit analysis and risk pricing process for almost all financial service companies. For companies, understanding the underwriting process and the requirements at each stage of the process will allow a company to prepare and present itself accordingly. For investors, the information contained in an underwriting is crucial to understanding the risks and potential rewards from a security's underlying asset.
Source: Investing Answers
underwrite
verb
English Language Learners Definition of underwrite
See the full definition for underwrite in the English Language Learners Dictionary
underwrite
transitive verb
\
\;
underwritten\ -ˌrit-ᵊn, -ˈrit-ᵊn
\;
underwriting