What does entrusting mean?
Entrusting is the present participle and gerund of the verb entrust, meaning to place confidence in another person by giving them responsibility for something valuable — whether a physical possession, money, information, or an important duty. When you are entrusting your home to a housesitter, or entrusting a colleague with a sensitive project, you are deliberately transferring care and control while relying on that person's competence and integrity. The word carries connotations of faith, vulnerability, and deliberate choice: it implies that what is being handed over matters enough to warrant trust. Grammatically, it typically appears in constructions such as 'entrusting X to Y' or 'entrusting Y with X'. Common in legal, financial, professional, and personal contexts alike, entrusting captures one of the fundamental social acts on which relationships, institutions, and commerce depend.
verb (present participle and gerund of entrust)The act of giving someone responsibility for something valuable or important, or of assigning a task or duty to another with confidence in their care.
- To give someone responsibility for caring for or handling something valuable or important.
- (Less common) To assign a task, duty, or office to a person as a matter of duty.
"By entrusting her savings to a trusted adviser, she finally felt her finances were in safe hands."
"She was entrusting her most precious manuscripts to the university library for safekeeping."
"The board is entrusting the new CEO with full authority over the restructuring plan."
Every act of entrusting is a small leap of faith — you literally place your trust into someone else's hands, which is exactly what the Latin roots 'en-' and 'trust' combine to say.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of entrusting
Entrusting derives from the verb entrust, formed in English from the prefix 'en-' (meaning 'to cause to be in' or 'to put into') combined with 'trust', which entered Middle English from Old Norse 'traust', meaning confidence or reliance. The compound verb arose in the early 17th century, alongside the now-rare variant 'intrust'. Its Germanic root also underlies related words such as trustee and trustworthy, all built on the same core notion of confidence placed in another.
Related word forms
How entrusting is actually used
Formal to neutral in register; common in legal, business, and everyday contexts where responsibility or care is transferred. Typically followed by 'to' + person ('entrusting the keys to a neighbour') or by person + 'with' + thing ('entrusting him with the keys').
Easily confused with entrusting
'Intrusting' is an older, now largely obsolete variant spelling of 'entrusting' — both mean the same thing, but modern English strongly prefers the 'e-' spelling.