1. to pledge property as security for a debt without giving up possession of it
Usage: legal; finance
2. to assume or suppose something as a basis for reasoning
Usage: formal

Examples

• The bank allowed him to hypothecate his stocks as collateral for the loan.
• She decided to hypothecate her real estate portfolio to secure additional funding.
• The borrower can hypothecate securities without transferring ownership.
• Let us hypothecate that the market will remain stable for the next quarter.
• The researcher chose to hypothecate certain conditions to test the theory.
• Companies often hypothecate their inventory to obtain working capital.