actuary

noun

ac·​tu·​ary ˈak-chə-ˌwer-ē 

-shə-,

-ˌwe-rē-

plural actuaries

1

obsolete : clerk, registrar

2

: a person who calculates insurance and annuity premiums, reserves, and dividends

Examples of actuary in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The actuary did so, but about everybody could see that the premium to be charged by the captive for policies were too high and some coverages were not needed by STW or SaniSure. —Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 26 Mar. 2025

Last year, Chicago’s official pension actuary issued a similar warning. —Forrest Claypool, Chicago Tribune, 23 Feb. 2025

First, a committee made up of medical experts, health-policy and health-economics experts, actuaries, and others—unaffiliated with the AMA and free of conflicts of interest—could reevaluate the few hundred medical codes that account for the lion’s share of medical costs. —Ezekiel J. Emanuel, The Atlantic, 4 Mar. 2025

However, according to Stephen Goss, the Social Security Administration’s chief actuary, birth rates started falling in 1965, as MarketWatch reported. —Erik Sherman, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin āctuārius "shorthand writer, keeper of accounts," alteration (with -u- from the u-stem action noun āctus) of *āctārius, from āctum "public transaction, record" + -ārius -ary entry 1 — more at act entry 1

First Known Use

1570, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for actuary

• antiquary
• bolsheviki
• calliope
• chelicerae
• covenantee
• cruciferae
• diastole
• distributee
• hyperbole
• interviewee
• origami
• phonology

Kids Definition

actuary

noun

ac·​tu·​ary ˈak-chə-ˌwer-ē 

-shə-

plural actuaries

: a person who calculates insurance premiums and dividends

actuarial

ˌak-chə-ˈwer-ē-əl

adjective

Legal Definition

actuary

noun

ac·​tu·​ary ˈak-chə-ˌwer-ē, -shə- 

plural actuaries

: a person who calculates insurance and annuity premiums, reserves, and dividends