Definition of "guarantee" []

• Something that assures a particular outcome or condition: Lack of interest is a guarantee of failure. (noun)
• A promise or an assurance, especially one given in writing, that attests to the quality or durability of a product or service. (noun)
• A pledge that something will be performed in a specified manner. (noun)
• A guaranty by which one person assumes responsibility for paying another's debts or fulfilling another's responsibilities. (noun)
• A guaranty for the execution, completion, or existence of something. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I plead now for the ballot, as the great guarantee; and _the only sufficient guarantee_ -- being in itself peacemaker, reconciler, schoolmaster and protector -- to which we are bound by every necessity and every reason; and I speak also for the good of the States lately in rebellion, as well as for the glory and safety of the Republic, that it may be an example to mankind."
• "Asked about that, Mr. Kiely said his use of the term "guarantee" was "colloquial" and not meant within "the legal definition.""
• "Mr. Kasowitz, the lawyer for Fletcher, said the word guarantee referred to the fact that the pension fund would be a preferred investor, its return accrued before—and potentially taken from funds of—other investors."