Word.ws English Dictionary

underwrote

/ʌn.dɚˈɹoʊt/

underwrote is the simple past of underwrite.

Meaning of underwrite

Verb

underwrite (third-person singular simple present underwrites, present participle underwriting, simple past underwrote or (archaic) underwrit, past participle underwritten or (archaic) underwrit)

  1. (transitive) To write below or under; subscribe.
  2. (intransitive, obsolete, transitive) To subscribe (a document, policy etc.) with one's name.
  3. (transitive) To sign; to put one's name to.
  4. (transitive) To agree to pay by signing one's name; subscribe.
  5. (transitive) Specifically, to assume financial responsibility for something, and guarantee it against failure.
    • Dr. Beeching's obvious intent is that if Scottish—and similarly unprofitable English and Welsh—railways are to be maintained, it must be done by an unconcealed subsidy; he is determined that the railways shall no longer be preoccupied with—and derided for—immense deficits which include the burden...1962 October, “Talking of Trains: Passed to you, Mr. Macmillan”, in Modern Railways, page 220
  6. (intransitive) To act as an underwriter.
    • The broker who procures the insurance […]ought not, by underwriting the policy, to deprive the parties of his unbiased testimony.1810, Samuel Marshall, Of marine insurance

See all 8 meanings of underwrite

Words that rhyme with underwrote

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about underwrote

What is underwrote the simple past of?
Underwrote is the simple past of underwrite.
How do you pronounce underwrote?
Underwrote is pronounced /ʌn.dɚˈɹoʊt/.

Words near underwrote in the dictionary

  1. underwriters
  2. underwrites
  3. underwriting
  4. underwritings
  5. underwritten
  6. underwrote
  7. underwrought
  8. underyoke
  9. underyoked
  10. underyokes
  11. underyoking

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: underwrote (page history and authors); underwrite (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “underwrote.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/underwrote. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.