Link Centre Dictionary

surety

su·rety

UK/ˈʃɔːɹɪti/ US/ˈʃʊəɹɪti/ rare

noun

1.
2.

property that your creditor can claim in case you default on your obligation

  • “bankers are reluctant to lend without good security”
Synonyms
3.

a prisoner who is held by one party to insure that another party will meet specified terms

Synonyms
4.

one who provides a warrant or guarantee to another

Synonyms
5.

a guarantee that an obligation will be met

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English surete, attested since the early 1300s in the sense "guarantee, promise, pledge, assurance", from Anglo-Norman seurté/Old French seurté with the same meaning (whence modern French sûreté), from Latin sēcūritās. Equivalent to sure + -ty. The senses "security, safety, stability" and "certainty" are attested since the late 1300s. "One who undertakes to pay if another does not" is from the early 1400s. Doublet of security.

Phrases

  • of a surety
  • surety bond

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.