guarantee against (something)
1. To confirm that something, usually something negative, will not happen. I certainly hope that nothing catastrophic happens, but I can't guarantee against it—none of us can. I learned a long time ago that I'm gonna have to do things with anxiety because there's no way to guarantee against it How am I supposed to guarantee against something going awry? I'm not a fortune-teller!
2. To confirm or certify that an item or product will not break or deteriorate, typically for a certain length of time. In this usage, a noun or pronoun is used between "guarantee" and "against." I hope the company guaranteed your fancy new blender against breaking for at least a year. Of course the car company doesn't guarantee even its newest models against electronic malfunctions for more than a year. I certainly paid enough for this treadmill—you'd think they could guarantee it against breakdowns for more than six months!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
guarantee something against something (for something)
to certify that something will not fail, break, or wear out, usually for a period of time. We guarantee this radio against defects for one year. I bought a service contract to guarantee my car against defects.
guarantee against something
to certify that something bad will not happen. No one can guarantee against that happening. I can't guarantee against something going wrong.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.