income

American  

[in-kuhm] / ˈɪn kʌm /

noun

1. revenue received for goods or services, or from other sources, as rents or investments.

   For years, her only source of income was the small number of stocks her father left her.

2. the money, or amount of money, received from one’s employment.

   a household with three incomes;

   a healthcare worker with an income that hasn’t increased in five years.

   Synonyms:

   earnings, wages, salary, return, gains, annuity, interest

   Antonyms:

   expenditure, outgo

3. something that comes in as an addition or increase, especially by chance.

4. Archaic. a coming in.

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income British  

/ ˈɪnkəm, ˈɪnkʌm /

noun

1. the amount of monetary or other returns, either earned or unearned, accruing over a given period of time

2. receipts; revenue

3. rare an inflow or influx

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income Cultural  

1. The amount of money received during a period of time in exchange for labor or services, from the sale of goods or property, or as a profit from financial investments.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• incomeless
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of income

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English: literally, “that which has come in,” noun use of incomen (past participle of incomen “to come in”), Old English incuman; see in, come

Explanation

What could be simpler than to remember that income basically refers to money that "comes in," or is earned. Your income is the money you make in a given time period, for example weekly, monthly, or annually. Your income might come from many sources — salary, investments, interest or annuities. Today income is used as a noun, but the Old English word incuman was first a verb that meant "to come in," and referred to the money earned through one's labor or business dealings. The first income tax was attempted in Britain in 1404, but was so unpopular it was ended. In the United States, the Federal Income Tax became law in 1913, and, unfortunately, is still in effect.

Example Sentences

And then you’d get to the income that you pull from savings or that you have from continuing to work.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026

For extra income, he worked home-repair jobs and she started a charm school to teach Black girls how to model.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

Applied Digital now has almost $2.1 billion in contracted net operating income in the pipeline.

From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026

Starlink provided the largest share of SpaceX’s revenue in 2025 — $11.32 billion of its $18.8 billion — and was its only profitable segment, with $4.42 billion in net income.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

But although the boost to Galileo’s income provided by the invention was short-lived, it came just at the right time.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

Related Words

• cash
• compensation
• earnings
• interest
• livelihood
• pay
• proceeds
• profit
• revenue
• royalty
• salary
• wage