investment

[ in-vest-muhnt ]
See synonyms for investment on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the investing of money or capital in order to gain profitable returns, as interest, income, or appreciation in value.

  2. a particular instance or mode of investing.

  1. a thing invested in, as a business, a quantity of shares of stock, etc.

  2. something that is invested; sum invested.

  3. the act or fact of investing or state of being invested, as with a garment.

  4. a devoting, using, or giving of time, talent, emotional energy, etc., as for a purpose or to achieve something: His investment in the project included more time than he cared to remember.

  5. Biology. any covering, coating, outer layer, or integument, as of an animal or vegetable.

  6. the act of investing with a quality, attribute, etc.

  7. investiture with an office, dignity, or right.

  8. a siege or blockade; the surrounding of a place with military forces or works, as in besieging.

  9. Also called investment compound. Metallurgy. a refractory material applied in a plastic state to a pattern to make a mold.

  10. Archaic. a garment or vestment.

Origin of investment

1
First recorded in 1590–1600 for def. 12; 1605–15 for def. 1; invest + -ment

Other words from investment

  • non·re·in·vest·ment, noun
  • o·ver·in·vest·ment, noun
  • pre·in·vest·ment, noun
  • pro·in·vest·ment, adjective
  • re·in·vest·ment, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for investment

investment

/ (ɪnˈvɛstmənt) /


noun
    • the act of investing money

    • the amount invested

    • an enterprise, asset, etc, in which money is or can be invested

    • the act of investing effort, resources, etc

    • the amount invested

  1. economics the amount by which the stock of capital (plant, machinery, materials, etc) in an enterprise or economy changes

  2. biology the outer layer or covering of an organ, part, or organism

  3. a less common word for investiture (def. 1)

  4. the act of investing or state of being invested, as with an official robe, a specific quality, etc

  5. rare the act of besieging with military forces, works, etc

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for investment

investment

The purchase of property with the expectation that its value will increase over time.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.