asset

American  

[as-et] / ˈæs ɛt /

noun

assets plural

1. a useful and desirable thing or quality.

   Organizational ability is an asset.

2. a single item of ownership having exchange value.

   Our summer home is an asset we're not willing to sell.

3. Digital Technology. one of the media components that, taken together, comprise all of the elements of a video game, such as the environments, objects, character art and animation, and sound design.

   All of the game assets are downloaded to your hard drive during the install, so slow load times are local and indicate a problem with your drive.

4. (in intelligence and information gathering) a person followed or spied upon to obtain information, who may be consenting, forced, or unaware of being used.

   They threatened to release a catalog of virtually every CIA asset within the Soviet Union.

5. Military. a physical resource, such as a piece of equipment, vehicle, or building.

6. assets. see assets.

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asset British  

/ ˈæsɛt /

noun

1. anything valuable or useful See also assets

   experience is their main asset

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asset Cultural  

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

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Discover More

Commonly, the term denotes anything of value.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• assetless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• assets
  plural

Etymology

Origin of asset

First recorded in 1525–35; back formation from assets, in phrase have assets, literally, “have enough (to pay obligations),” from Anglo-French, Old French asez “enough,” from unattested Vulgar Latin ad satis “to sufficiency”; see also assai ¹

Explanation

An asset is something you have that is positive. It can mean a piece of property, a piece of equipment, an ability, or even a quality. "Her facility with math is an asset when it comes to figuring out the restaurant tab. She is an asset to the group." A person's overall financial picture is determined by lining up everything they own in the asset column, and everything they owe in the liability (or debit) column.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

asset assets

Another question was whether the dramatic increase in SK Group's value since the couple's separation, on the cusp of the AI boom, should be reflected in the asset division.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

"We should own, perhaps, at least one half of this asset," he said at the time.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

On July 1, his financial disclosure reports revealed that his income jumped to $2.2 billion in 2025, with $1.4 billion coming from various new cryptocurrency-related businesses — an asset class that his policies have promoted.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

“This estate-planning tool is designed to benefit the entire family and can be tailored to include only certain assets, or only a portion of a particular asset that would otherwise be received.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

He proved to be more of a distraction than an asset.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

This is known as a means test - where the level of financial support a person gets is based on the value of their assets and savings.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

Your adviser’s suggestion to manage $700,000 of your assets through a proprietary equity hedge strategy gives me pause.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

The flow of capital from mainland China has grown so large that Hong Kong last year overtook Switzerland as the world’s biggest cross-border wealth hub, with $2.9 trillion in assets, according to Boston Consulting Group.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

People with assets above £23,250 are normally expected to pay the full cost of their care.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

Throughout most of his life, Washington’s physical vigor had been one of his most priceless assets.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Related Words

• aid
• benefit
• credit
• resource
• service