Word
vouch
US/ˈvaʊtʃ/
UK/vˈaʊtʃ/
Definition
v. to say that you believe someone is honest or that something is true because you have personal experience with them. You use this when you want to support someone's reputation.
v. to assert or confirm as a result of one's own experience that something is true or that someone is of good character. Typically used in professional or social contexts to provide a personal guarantee.
Examples
“I can vouch for his honesty.”
“Since I have worked with her for five years, I can vouch for her ability to handle complex projects under pressure.”
“While the candidate's resume was impressive, the committee waited for a former colleague to vouch for his interpersonal skills before making a final offer.”
Examples
simple
“I can vouch for his honesty.”
contextual
“Since I have worked with her for five years, I can vouch for her ability to handle complex projects under pressure.”
complex
“While the candidate's resume was impressive, the committee waited for a former colleague to vouch for his interpersonal skills before making a final offer.”
Usage
Intransitive; almost always followed by the preposition 'for' and a noun phrase object.
Pitfall
I can vouch him
I can vouch for him
The verb is intransitive and requires the preposition 'for' before the object.
Real-World Examples
“I haven’t tried Aloshdenny’s project that reverse-engineers Google’s SynthID watermarking system, so I can’t vouch for how effective it actually is.” “In them, Oz vouched for the quality of Raoult’s research.” 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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
VERB
NOUN
Idioms
01. vouch for
Domain
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C1 AdvancedIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.7.0–8.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 5.0–5.595–113TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.945–990
- Frequency
- Occasional
- Level
- C1 · Advanced
- Updated
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QR code
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