Meaning & use
assign risk
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Meanings
phrasetransitive
To give someone the responsibility for dealing with a possible problem or danger.
Grammar: Takes an object: assign risk to someone. Often used in passive: risk is assigned to a team.
Patterns
- assign risk to someone
- assign a risk to someone
- assign risk to something
The manager decided to assign risk to the most experienced team member.
In this project, we assign risk to different departments based on their expertise.
The insurance company will assign risk to the underwriters.
phrasetransitivefinance
In finance, to categorize an investment or loan according to how risky it is.
Grammar: Takes an object: assign risk to a loan. Often used in passive: the loan was assigned a high risk.
Patterns
- assign risk to something
- assign a risk rating to something
Banks assign risk to each loan before approving it.
Analysts assign risk to stocks using complex models.
The algorithm assigns risk to credit card transactions in real time.
Common combinations
- assign risk to
- They assign risk to the project manager.
- assign a risk rating
- The agency will assign a risk rating to the bond.
- assign risk based on
- We assign risk based on the borrower's credit history.
Synonyms and how they differ
- allocate risk
- Similar meaning, but 'allocate' often implies distributing among several parties, while 'assign' focuses on giving to one.
- delegate risk
- Means to give risk management to a lower level; 'assign' is more neutral about hierarchy.
Commonly confused: assign risk or assess risk?
assign risk vs assess risk
Means to evaluate how risky something is, not to give responsibility for it.
Practice
The project leader decided to ______ risk to the new employee.
Choose one answer.
'Assign' means to give responsibility. 'Assess' means to evaluate, which does not fit the idea of giving responsibility.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “assign risk”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.