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

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

But according to political scientist Jesus Castillo Molleda, most pro-government officials endorse Rodriguez.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

They sometimes endorse in races where two members of their own party are facing off against each other, but not always.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

So I asked El-Sayed the same question later that night: Would he endorse and campaign for Stevens if she lost?

From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026

Later on their minds would be made to endorse the judgment of their bodies.

From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

He endorses an aphorism from Arrigo Sacchi, a legendary Italian manager, who described soccer as “the most important of the least important things.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

“I’m disappointed most of them will be on the ballot,” said Lorena Gonzalez, the head of the California Federation of Labor Unions, which will announce whether it endorses in the governor’s race on March 16.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2026

And yet, “Bridgerton” also endorses Benedict’s queerness in the latest season’s sixth episode, when he comes out to Sophie.

From Salon ● Mar. 4, 2026

Prof Caroline Hiscox, chief executive of NHS Lothian, said the HIS report "effectively endorses" its ongoing programme to improve patient safety and working culture.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2025

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

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman last month proposed “a U.S.-led international forum” to determine standards and provide governance over labs, while Anthropic endorsed a global agreement to slow development and verify compliance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

And in June, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed a trio of progressive Democrats in the regions' US House races, all of whom won their primaries.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Both Turner and Kennedy endorsed faith-based recovery programs as alternatives preferred by the administration over “housing first.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

He publicly endorsed her meeting with Zelenskyy, and Loomer has said she spoke twice with Trump while in Ukraine.

From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026

Not surprisingly, given Roosevelt’s power in Washington, the politicians of the fair’s National Commission strongly endorsed his plan.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Jones scoffed at his party endorsing his opponent.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

"You can shape a treatment to fit the belief system without explicitly endorsing it," French said, conceding an exorcism might even have a beneficial placebo effect in some cases.

From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026

For Teremi, publicly celebrating as an Iranian citizen abroad felt too much like endorsing the current regime, something he had no desire to do.

From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026

Last week, director of cricket Rob Key said he could see no reason why Stokes would not play for England again, but stopped short of endorsing him as captain.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

And so his texts played a decisive role in legitimizing the new post-Kuhnian history of science because they were wrongly read as endorsing a thoroughgoing relativism.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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