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

Asian equity benchmarks pulled off a remarkable turnaround, with the hardest-hit indexes completely erasing losses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

Asian equity markets were also down, with Tokyo losing more than three percent as the yen spiked against the greenback, weighing on exporters.

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026

A hawkish Fed will be a headwind, and “the recent positive correlation between equities and gold suggests that gold prices will fall if, as we expect, the AI equity boom turns to bust.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

Bill Shiebler -- chief strategy officer at the non-profit State Voices, a network of advocates for civic engagement and equity -- told AFP the night was "a huge rebuke against hate and division."

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026

Bobby also wanted proof that the prize fund was actually in a bank, and when that information, or proof of equity, wasn’t forthcoming, the entire venture dribbled away.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Equity REITs buy physical properties and collect rental income from tenants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

Equity dilution among Big Tech companies is reducing the risk of a slowdown in AI capital expenditure, which means little chance of alleviation soon, he said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026

“They positioned themselves as a cut above traditional fast food, a little bit higher quality,” Mark Kalinowski, a restaurant analyst and CEO of Kalinowski Equity Research, told MarketWatch in August.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026

Equity investors have already piled into SpaceX’s listing this summer, absorbed a nearly $85 billion equity raise by Google parent Alphabet and are currently being plied by Meta Platforms for more cash.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 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

“Also outperforming have been real estate equities, where share prices have possibly begun to take a ‘look through’ view on feelings that trough valuations may have already been reached,” UBS strategist Richard Schellbach says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

“International allocation might lag as U.S. equities outperform, particularly when it is a tech-driven rally,” he said during an interview with MarketWatch.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026

Nevertheless, most analysts expect decent listing gains despite a weak year for Indian equities.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

The company oversees more than $1 billion in blockchain-based funds spanning Treasurys, structured credit and equities, a small but growing slice of its approximately $500 billion in total assets under management.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

As the goods are sold, so are the equities in them released, and the balance is credited to the mill.

From The Fabric of Civilization A Short Survey of the Cotton Industry in the United States by Guaranty Trust Company of New York

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• capital
• investment

---