as·set

[as-et]
noun
1.
a useful and desirable thing or quality: Organizational ability is an asset.
2.
a single item of ownership having exchange value.
3.
assets.
a.
items of ownership convertible into cash; total resources of a person or business, as cash, notes and accounts receivable, securities, inventories, goodwill, fixtures, machinery, or real estate ( opposed to liabilities ).
b.
Accounting. the items detailed on a balance sheet, especially in relation to liabilities and capital.
c.
all property available for the payment of debts, especially of a bankrupt or insolvent firm or person.
d.
Law. property in the hands of an heir, executor, or administrator, that is sufficient to pay the debts or legacies of a deceased person.

Origin:
1525–35; back formation from assets, in phrase have assets, literally, have enough (to pay obligations) < Anglo-French, Old French asez enough. See assai1

as·set·less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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00:10
Asset is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
Collins
World English Dictionary
asset (ˈæsɛt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
See also assets anything valuable or useful: experience is their main asset
 
[C19: back formation from assets]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

asset
see assets.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

asset definition


A possession that can be turned into cash to cover liabilities.

Note: Commonly, the term denotes anything of value.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary

ASSET definition


Asset Source for Software Engineering Technology

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © Denis Howe 2010 http://foldoc.org
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Example sentences
This book's greatest asset is the firsthand testimony it gives from every side
  of the debate.
Her inner peace was her asset.
Stairs, it seems, are a neglected asset in the fitness crusade.
She relies on the village's greatest asset--gossip--for her clues.
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