Definition of VOUCH

vouch

Plural: vouches

Verb

Verb Forms: vouched, vouching, vouches

  • To give one's personal assurance or guarantee.
  • give personal assurance; guarantee
    • "Will he vouch for me?"
  • give surety or assume responsibility
    • "I vouch for the quality of my products"
  • summon (a vouchee) into court to warrant or defend a title
  • give supporting evidence
    • "He vouched his words by his deeds"
  • To call on (someone) to be a witness to something.
  • To cite or rely on (an authority, a written work, etc.) in support of one's actions or opinions.
  • To affirm or warrant the correctness or truth of (something); also, to affirm or warrant (the truth of an assertion or statement).
  • To bear witness or testify to the nature or qualities (of someone or something).
  • To back, confirm, or support (someone or something) with credible evidence or proof.
  • Synonym of vouchsafe (“to condescendingly or graciously give or grant (something)”).
  • To assert, aver, or declare (something).
  • In full vouch to warrant or vouch to warranty: to summon (someone) into court to establish a warranty of title to land.
  • Followed by over: of a vouchee (a person summoned to court to establish a warranty of title): to summon (someone) to court in their place.
  • To guarantee legal title (to something).
  • Often followed by for.
  • To bear witness or testify; to guarantee or sponsor.
  • Often followed by for.
  • To provide evidence or proof.
  • Often followed by for.
  • To express confidence in or take responsibility for (the correctness or truth of) something.

Noun

  • An assertion, a declaration; also, a formal attestation or warrant of the correctness or truth of something.

Examples

  • He would vouch for the legality of his obscure Scrabble word, citing the official dictionary.
  • I can vouch that he wasn’t at the scene of the crime.

Origin / Etymology

The verb is derived from Middle English vouchen (“to call, summon; to provide; to make available, proffer; to affirm, declare formally”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman vocher, voucher, woucher, and Old French vocher, voucher, vochier (“to call, summon; to claim; to call upon, invoke; to denounce”) [and other forms], from Vulgar Latin *vocicāre, derived from Latin vocāre (“to call, summon; to call upon, invoke; to designate, name; to bring or put (into a condition or state”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wekʷ- (“to sound out; to speak”).
Verb sense 8.1 (“to summon (someone) into court to establish a warranty of title to land”) in the form vouch to warrant or vouch to warranty is a calque from Anglo-Norman and Old French voucher a garant.
The noun is derived from the verb.

Scrabble Score: 13

vouch: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
vouch: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
vouch: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 15

vouch: valid Words With Friends Word