depreciation

American  

[dih-pree-shee-ey-shuhn] / dɪˌpri ʃiˈeɪ ʃən /

noun

depreciations plural

1. decrease in value due to wear and tear, decay, decline in price, etc.

2. such a decrease as allowed in computing the value of property for tax purposes.

3. a decrease in the purchasing or exchange value of money.

4. a lowering in estimation.

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depreciation British  

/ dɪˌpriːʃɪˈeɪʃən /

noun

1. accounting

   1. the reduction in value of a fixed asset due to use, obsolescence, etc

   2. the amount deducted from gross profit to allow for such reduction in value

2. accounting a modified amount permitted for purposes of tax deduction

3. the act or an instance of depreciating or belittling; disparagement

4. a decrease in the exchange value of currency against gold or other currencies brought about by excess supply of that currency under conditions of fluctuating exchange rates Compare devaluation

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depreciation Cultural  

1. A decline over time in the value of a tangible asset, such as a house or car.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nondepreciation
  noun
• predepreciation
  noun
• redepreciation
  noun
• underdepreciation
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• depreciations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of depreciation

An Americanism dating back to 1730–40; depreciate + -ion

Explanation

Depreciation is when the value of a currency is lowered. The depreciation of the U.S. dollar when compared to the Euro, for example, means that you'll pay more for things in Europe at the current exchange rate. Depreciation is from the Latin word depretiare, which means to lower in price, with the roots de, meaning "down," and pretium, meaning "price." If something goes down in value, then the amount of the decrease is called depreciation. If, for example, you buy a car for $10,000, but a year later it is only worth $8,000 due to wear and tear, then the depreciation on the car is $2,000.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

depreciation depreciations

The company said Peacock’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization was $189 million.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

The company also backed its projection for core adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $37.1 billion to $37.5 billion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Nonetheless, the company maintained its guidance for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization after leases and free cash flow, they note.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

It will lift over time as depreciation is spread over a growing base of revenue tied to CoreWeave’s AI cloud platform, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Prices kept going up and up, and depreciation of the paper money took a lot of the profit out of it.

From "My Brother Sam is Dead" by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

The gold miner said earnings before interest, taxes, depreciations and amortization more than doubled on year to $2.29 billion, aided by higher production volumes and elevated gold prices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026

President Masoud Pezeshkian promised dialogue and acknowledged "legitimate demands" in in a country where inflation soars near 50%, and currency depreciations play havoc with people's hardscrabble lives.

From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2026

Next year also could see corporates taking advantage of last year’s tax law changes that allow 100% bonus depreciations and immediate expensing of R&D costs.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 5, 2025

These have caused capital outflows and currency depreciations, the World Bank said.

From Reuters ● Sep. 27, 2022

The outbreak of the war of the Austrian Succession brought with it a new period of conflicting depreciations, and at the close Austria took a decisive step.

From The History of Currency, 1252 to 1896 by Shaw, William Arthur

Related Words

• deflation
• reduction
• slump