cosigner

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Explanation of the Word "Cosigner"

Part of Speech: Noun

Usage Instructions

• You typically find a cosigner in situations involving loans, like when someone wants to buy a car or rent an apartment but might not have enough credit history or income to qualify on their own.
• When a cosigner signs the agreement, they are promising to help pay back the loan if the primary borrower (the principal signer) defaults or fails to make payments.

Example

• "Because Sarah didn’t have enough credit history, her father agreed to be her cosigner on the car loan."

Advanced Usage

• In legal documents, multiple cosigners can be involved, which means there can be more than one person responsible for the same obligation. This can strengthen the application for loans or leases.
• In some cases, a cosigner may be used to improve creditworthiness. For example, a student might ask a family member to cosign a student loan to get a better interest rate.

Word Variants

• Cosigning (verb): The act of signing as a cosigner.
  • Example: "I am cosigning the lease for my friend."
• Cosigned (past tense): The action of having signed together with another person.
  • Example: "The loan was cosigned by his parents."

Different Meanings

• In a legal context, a cosigner can also refer to someone who signs a treaty or declaration along with others, indicating collective agreement or responsibility.

Synonyms

• Guarantor
• Endorser
• Co-obligor

Idioms and Phrasal Verbs

• "Put your name on the line": This phrase means to take responsibility for something, similar to what a cosigner does.
• "Back someone up": This means to support someone, which relates to how a cosigner supports the borrower by taking on some of the financial risk.

Academic

Noun

1. a signer in addition to the principal signer (to verify the authenticity of the principal signature or to provide surety)
2. one of two or more signers of the same document (as a treaty or declaration)

Synonyms

• cosignatory