Synonyms

endorse

American

[en-dawrs] / ɛnˈdɔrs /

verb (used with object)

to approve, support, or sustain.

to endorse a political candidate.

Synonyms:

second, back, sustain, uphold, ratify, sanction
to designate oneself as payee of (a check) by signing, usually on the reverse side of the instrument.
to sign one's name on (a commercial document or other instrument).
to make over (a stated amount) to another as payee by one's endorsement.
to write (something) on the back of a document, paper, etc..

to endorse instructions; to endorse one's signature.
to acknowledge (payment) by placing one's signature on a bill, draft, etc.

noun

Heraldry. a narrow pale, about one quarter the usual width and usually repeated several times.

endorse British

/ ɪnˈdɔːs /

verb

to give approval or sanction to
to sign (one's name) on the back of (a cheque, etc) to specify oneself as payee
commerce
1. to sign the back of (a negotiable document) to transfer ownership of the rights to a specified payee
2. to specify (a designated sum) as transferable to another as payee
to write (a qualifying comment, recommendation, etc) on the back of a document
to sign (a document), as when confirming receipt of payment
to record (a conviction) on (a driving licence)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of endorse

First recorded in 1350–1400; variant (with en- for in- ) of earlier indorse, from Medieval Latin indorsāre “to endorse,” equivalent to Latin in- in- ² + -dorsāre, derivative of dorsum “back”; replacing endoss, Middle English endossen, from Old French endosser, equivalent to en- en- ¹ + -dosser, derivative of dos, from Latin dorsum

Explanation

To endorse is to give support to someone or something. "I endorse this!" means "I think this is a good thing, and so should you." People endorse in many ways. When someone endorses a politician, it means "You should vote for this person, and I'm putting my reputation on the line to say so." When someone endorses a product in a commercial, it means "Go buy this! You'll like it." To endorse is to give support. You can also endorse a check, which means writing your name or someone else's on the back so that you or the other person can cash or deposit it.

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

endorse endorses endorsed endorsing

So, for example, with the PCE data, he expects it will endorse his view that inflation pressures are cooling.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

“We absolutely endorse the idea of redevelopment — that place is kind of an armpit,” Law said of Pechanga Arena.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

While he declined to endorse a candidate, Sarwar warned the contenders and their teams against infighting as the race becomes more embittered.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

The report states that reviewers “were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations . . . nor did they see the final draft before its release.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

To give voting rights to African Americans over women was to endorse what Stanton called the “aristocracy of sex.”

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

But he will still be able to stay in the spotlight by creating suspense over whom he endorses as his successor in 2028.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

As she runs for mayor, the Los Angeles chapter of the DSA hopes to expand its power as it endorses a new slate of 2026 candidates for City Council, city attorney and L.A. school board.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026

It is lost on me how he could square those poetic words with the decision he endorses in Callais.

From Slate ● Apr. 30, 2026

Mr. Naiden seems unwilling to admit that such funds are applied to purposes he endorses, such as wages, safety and upgrades.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026

If some celebrity endorses a brand of dog food, or some cabdriver disapproves of the mayor’s handling of a dilemma, there’s obviously no reason to accord statistical significance to these personal expressions.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

The three biggest theater chains in the U.S.—AMC, Regal and Cinemark—have all endorsed the Paramount-Warner combination.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

On Friday, Bill Maher did a lengthy segment on his show “Real Time,” apologizing to the president for having said “almost none” of his endorsed candidates are winning their primaries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026

She rejected what she called the government’s “cynical interpretation” of the Supreme Court’s ruling, writing that the justices had “not endorsed the view that any challenge to the final rule is now too late.”

From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026

And when one of us finally came padding down the wooden stairs, sleepy and rumpled and operating on a schedule she would never have personally endorsed, there was no reproach.

From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026

Loomis’s donation checks were endorsed to “Ernest O. Lawrence, personal,” with the money to be spent at Lawrence’s sole discretion.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

On the other hand, as even the Globe editorial endorsing Moulton acknowledged, Markey still seems like “the picture of sharpness and vigor.”

From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026

Talarico’s campaign cut an ad showing Paxton taking the pen and ending with Joplin, holding his recovered pen, endorsing Talarico.

From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026

A vaccine skeptic, Kennedy has shared mixed messaging on MMR vaccine, at times endorsing it and other times sharing unproven claims about its safety.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

The challenge for brands is to acknowledge that development without endorsing the extremes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

They probably assumed that now those famous “leaders” were endorsing and joining them.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023