entrusted

Entrusted is the past participle and form of the verb entrust. It describes the act of committing something to another person’s care or responsibility, and, when used adjectivally, indicates that something has been placed in someone’s custody or confidence. In everyday language, people speak of entrusting items, information, tasks, or responsibilities to others, often with an expectation of care, discretion, or competence.

Usage examples typically involve personal or professional contexts. A parent might entrust a key to a neighbor, a manager may entrust a project to a team, or a citizen may entrust personal data to a service provider. In legal and organizational settings, entrusting typically implies a duty of care or fiduciary responsibility, such as when assets are entrusted to a custodian or when confidential information is entrusted under a non-disclosure agreement. The concept also appears in data protection and chain-of-custody practices, where control or access is transferred with the obligation to maintain integrity and security.

Etymology-wise, entrust is built from the prefix en- meaning “put into” and trust, the latter dating back to Old French and Latin roots related to reliance and confidence. The -ed form marks completed action and functions as both a participle and an adjective in English.

See also: entrust, trust, fiduciary duty, custody, chain of custody, entrusted information, entrusted property.