insure
/ɪnˈʃʊɚ/verb
insure is spelled I-N-S-U-R-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “ensure vs insure” about 40,500 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, insure means “To provide for compensation if some specified risk occurs. Often agreed by policy (contract) to offer financial compensation in case of an accident…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in insure?
| Letters | 6: I-N-S-U-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,122nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is insure?
Insure appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce insure?
- /ɪnˈʃɔː(ɹ)/
- /ɪnˈʃʊə(ɹ)/
- US /ɪnˈʃʊɚ/
Insure has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-insure.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with insure
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: ensure.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with insure?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as insure from its last stressed vowel (/ʊəɹ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: ursine, nursie.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of insure
- insures present, singular, he/she/it
- insuring participle, present
- insured participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does insure mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To provide for compensation if some specified risk occurs. Often agreed by policy (contract) to offer financial compensation in case of an accident, theft or other undesirable event.
I'm not insured against burglary.
- 2
To deal in such contracts; subscribe to a policy of insurance
- 3
USdatedAlternative spelling of ensure; to make sure or certain of; guarantee.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Insure in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to provide for compensation if some risk occurs:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | assurer |
| German | versichern |
| Spanish | asegurar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does insure come from?
First attested in c. 1440, as a variant of Middle English ensuren (from Anglo-Norman enseurer, itself from Old French en- + seür (“sure”), probably influenced by Old French asseürer (“to assure”)); took on its particular sense of "make safe against loss by payment of premiums" in 1635, replacing assure. Doublet of ensure.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).