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• equity
  equity

  noun

  the quality of being fair or impartial; fairness; impartiality.
• Equity
  Equity

  noun

  the actors' trade union

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.

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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

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Equity ² British  

/ ˈɛkwɪtɪ /

noun

1. Full name: Actors' Equity Association.  the actors' trade union

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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.

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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.

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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

C-Beauty’s next phase of overseas expansion will require establishing long-term brand equity through physical retail, compliance with local regulations and products tailored to local consumers, it said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Only 27% of actively managed U.S. large-cap equity funds beat their benchmark passive fund alternatives in the 12 months ended June 30.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

According to more recent reporting in Forbes, the federal government now holds equity stakes in roughly 30 different companies across a range of industries.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

France is a key market for the low-cost airline, which was recently taken over in a $7.7 billion deal by US private equity firm Apollo.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

Steve Eisman had started out running a $60 million equity fund but was now short around 600 million dollars’ worth of various subprime-related securities, and he wanted to short more.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Mari is acquiring ATG from Providence Equity Partners L.L.C. for an undisclosed price and the deal is subjected to regulatory approvals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Pluralsight, a tech-skills learning platform, was bought by Vista Equity Partners in 2021 with debt from lenders including Blue Owl, Ares Management, BlackRock and Goldman Sachs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

It sold a minority stake in the club in 2023 to US private equity group Dynasty Equity.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

FSG, who bought Liverpool in a £300m deal in 2010, previously sold a minority stake in the Anfield side to global sports investment firm Dynasty Equity.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

Vinny, who had just coauthored a gloomy report called “A Home without Equity Is Just a Rental with Debt,” came right away.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

This is the job bonds are supposed to do: zig when equities zag.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

"The biggest risk for European equities is potentially stagflationary: climate change could simultaneously weaken productivity and growth, at the same time pushing food, energy, insurance costs, infrastructure spending and ultimately inflation structurally higher," she said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

“Shifting expectations for Fed policy may contribute to periods of equity volatility, but we expect the global stock rally to continue,” said Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi, global head of equities at the UBS Chief Investment Office.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

That high yield is also coming at a time when stock index valuations are still elevated, making the relative attraction of that long-term yield more competitive with equities than is typical.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

This agreement shows a sound sense of human equities, proclaiming as it does that “the owner must not do no act to injure the barber personal earnings.”

From Pipefuls by Christopher Morley

Related Words

• capital
• investment