guarantees

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of guarantee.

   The manufacturer backs its products with lifetime guarantees.

   Buyers wanted firm guarantees before signing the contract.

   Note

   Every kind of assurance the singular covers can be counted, so the plural gathers them all: a lender's legal securities, a manufacturer's written warranties, the promises a buyer asks for. It can also count people, meaning the parties a guarantee is made to and, colloquially, the guarantors who give one. The same spelling serves the present-tense verb. An article or adjective in front (the guarantees, lifetime guarantees) marks the noun.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of guarantee.

   The dealership guarantees the repair against any future defects.

   A solid foundation guarantees that the structure will stay stable for decades.

   Note

   The subject decides which meaning is in play. When a person or firm guarantees something, it gives an assurance or takes on responsibility, as for a loan or other debt. When a thing or condition guarantees something, it simply makes the outcome certain, and no promise is involved. Either kind of subject can be followed by a plain object or by a that-clause.

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