annuity

[ uh-noo-i-tee, uh-nyoo- ]
See synonyms for annuity on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural an·nu·i·ties.
  1. a specified income payable at stated intervals for a fixed or a contingent period, often for the recipient's life, in consideration of a stipulated premium paid either in prior installment payments or in a single payment.

  2. the right to receive such an income, or the duty to make such a payment or payments.

Origin of annuity

1
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Anglo-French annuité, annualté, from Medieval Latin annuitās, equivalent to Latin annu(us) “yearly,” derivative of annus “year” + -itās -ity

Other words from annuity

  • su·per·an·nu·i·ty, noun, plural su·per·an·nu·i·ties.

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

How to use annuity in a sentence

  • The campaign being over, the Indians returned and received their annuities, and thus was the Spirit Lake affair passed over.

    Mary and I | Stephen Return Riggs

British Dictionary definitions for annuity

annuity

/ (əˈnjuːɪtɪ) /


nounplural -ties
  1. a fixed sum payable at specified intervals, esp annually, over a period, such as the recipient's life, or in perpetuity, in return for a premium paid either in instalments or in a single payment

  2. the right to receive or the duty to pay such a sum

Origin of annuity

1
C15: from French annuité, from Medieval Latin annuitās, from Latin annuus annual

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 annuity

annuity

[ (uh-nooh-uh-tee) ]


A sum of money payable yearly or at regular intervals.

Notes for annuity

Many people's retirement funds are set up to be paid in annuities.

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.