Jump To:

• equity
  equity

  noun

  the quality of being fair or impartial; fairness; impartiality.
• Equity
  Equity

  noun

  the actors' trade union

Trivia Time

Who could offer professional advice to homeowners about equity?

Test Your Knowledge

equity

American  

[ek-wi-tee] / ˈɛk wɪ ti /

noun

• equities
  plural

1. the quality of being fair or impartial; fairness; impartiality.

   the equity of Solomon.

   Synonyms:

   justice, objectivity, justness, disinterest

   Antonyms:

   discrimination, bias, injustice, prejudice, partisanship, partiality, inequity

2. something that is fair and just.

   The concepts and principles of health equities and inequities are important to society as a whole.

3. the policy or practice of accounting for the differences in each individual’s starting point when pursuing a goal or achievement, and working to remove barriers to equal opportunity, as by providing support based on the unique needs of individual students or employees.

4. Law.

   1. Also called chancery. the application of the dictates of conscience or the principles of natural justice to the settlement of controversies.

   2. Also called chancery. a system of jurisprudence or a body of doctrines and rules developed in England and followed in the U.S., serving to supplement and remedy the limitations and the inflexibility of the common law.

   3. an equitable or legally valid right or claim.

   4. equity of redemption.

5. the monetary value of a property or business beyond any amounts owed on it in mortgages, claims, liens, etc..

   Over the years, they have carefully avoided tapping into their home equity for unnecessary expenses.

6. Informal. ownership, especially when considered as the right to share in future profits or appreciation in value.

7. the interest of the owner of common stock in a corporation.

8. (in a margin account) the excess of the market value of the securities over any indebtedness.

9. Equity. Actors' Equity Association.

---

equity ¹ British  

/ ˈɛkwɪtɪ /

noun

1. the quality of being impartial or reasonable; fairness

2. an impartial or fair act, decision, etc

3. law a system of jurisprudence founded on principles of natural justice and fair conduct. It supplements the common law and mitigates its inflexibility, as by providing a remedy where none exists at law

4. law an equitable right or claim

   equity of redemption

5. the interest of ordinary shareholders in a company

6. the market value of a debtor's property in excess of all debts to which it is liable

---

Equity ² British  

/ ˈɛkwɪtɪ /

noun

1. Full name: Actors' Equity Association. the actors' trade union

---

equity ¹ Cultural  

1. In real estate, the financial value of someone's property over and above the amount the person owes on mortgages. For example, if you buy a house for $100,000, paying $20,000 down and borrowing $80,000, your equity in the house is $20,000. As you pay off the principal of the loan, your equity will rise.

---

equity ² Cultural  

1. A body of rules or customs based on general principles of fair play rather than on common law or statutory law.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• equities
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of equity

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English equite, equitee, equyte, from Old French equité, from Latin aequitāt-, stem of aequitās “evenness, smoothness, fairness”; see equi-, -ty ²

---

Explanation

Equity is the state or quality of being fair. In classrooms, it's important to establish equity as any hint of unfairness turns everyone against the teacher. In finance, equity refers to the value of a business or piece of property after subtracting the amount of the mortgage. Also in finance, equities are stocks, in contrast to bonds. Equity is from Middle English equite, from Old French équité, from Latin aequitas "equality," from aequus "equal."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

equity Equity equities

The domestic equity market may also be aided by possible dip-buying interest after the Nikkei closed at more than a one-month low on Tuesday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

As Akzo starts discussions with potential buyers, it is considering both industry players and private equity, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

On average over the 50 trading days prior to market bottoms, short-term market timers reduce their recommended equity exposure by 20 percentage points.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026

Even earlier in 2005, Google announced that it would commit 1% of its profits and equity toward its philanthropic vision through Google.org, a division of the company rather than a separate foundation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

Steve Eisman had started out running a $60 million equity fund but was now short around 600 million dollars’ worth of various subprime-related securities, and he wanted to short more.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

It was signed by more than 100 current and former cast and crew members, including Dench, Felicity Jones and Kellie Bright, as well as representatives from Equity and the Writers' Guild.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

The dominant equipment brands are both owned by California private-equity firm Seidler Equity Partners.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

Equity markets struggled following a day in the red for all three main indexes on Wall Street.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

This article was produced as a project for the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s 2026 California Health Equity Fellowship.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

Lippmann, who was forever adding data to his presentation, produced his latest version of “Shorting Mezzanine Home Equity Tranches” and walked Fewings through his argument.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

A downgrade from emerging-market to standalone status would exclude Indonesian equities from MSCI’s main indexes tracked by global funds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

Yields on Treasurys and European government bonds edged higher, pulling away from multiweek lows reached Thursday as equities rebounded following a selloff in technology stocks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Huang's "defence of CoreWeave's financial position was enough to pull the NeoCloud complex off the floor, drag AI equities higher and give the broader market something resembling a pulse", wrote SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

Meanwhile, pressure on U.S. 10-year treasury yields was slightly easing Thursday, which Jefferies equities trading analyst Jeffrey Favuzza said was likely “a function around the sentiment in AI.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

No other use can possibly be so high or so noble as that of maintaining all equities undisturbed.

From Money: Speech of Hon. John P. Jones, of Nevada, On the Free Coinage of Silver; in the United States Senate, May 12 and 13, 1890 by John P. (John Percival) Jones

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• capital
• investment

---