annuity
Americannoun
PLURAL
annuities-
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.
-
the right to receive such an income, or the duty to make such a payment or payments.
noun
-
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
-
the right to receive or the duty to pay such a sum
Discover More
Many people's retirement funds are set up to be paid in annuities.
Other Word Forms
- superannuity noun
Etymology
Origin of annuity
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Social Security is the best annuity you can ‘buy,’” says Mark Iwry, who formerly oversaw national retirement policy at the Treasury Department.
A single-premium immediate annuity sold by insurers and brokerage firms — where you hand over a lump of money and the company invests it — can also provide monthly lifetime income.
From MarketWatch
At the same time, other advisers say that some people might not be able to keep their extravagant ways in check, making an annuity could be a safer option.
From MarketWatch
Proceed carefully if you are considering an annuity.
From MarketWatch
No threats, no bribes, no offers of annuities or gifts, no peace overtures could sway him from fighting for them, their land and their traditional way of life.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
