income

[in-kuhm]

noun

1. revenue received for goods or services, or from other sources, as rents or investments.

   For years, her only source of income was the small number of stocks her father left her.

2. the money, or amount of money, received from one’s employment.

   a household with three incomes;

   a healthcare worker with an income that hasn’t increased in five years.

   Synonyms: earnings, wages, salary, return, gains, annuity, interest
   Antonyms: expenditure, outgo

3. something that comes in as an addition or increase, especially by chance.

4. Archaic.,  a coming in.

income

/ ˈɪnkəm, ˈɪnkʌm /

noun

1. the amount of monetary or other returns, either earned or unearned, accruing over a given period of time

2. receipts; revenue

3. rare,  an inflow or influx

income

1. The amount of money received during a period of time in exchange for labor or services, from the sale of goods or property, or as a profit from financial investments.

Other Word Forms

• incomeless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of income¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English: literally, “that which has come in,” noun use of incomen (past participle of incomen “to come in”), Old English incuman; in, come

Word History and Origins

Origin of income¹

C13 (in the sense: arrival, entrance): from Old English incumen a coming in

Example Sentences

Plus, you will have to pay income tax on all withdrawals.

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For retirement savers, this consistency, regular interest payments and senior position in the capital structure provide a good balance between income and downside protection.

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“Social Security benefits are so important because a majority of retirees rely on Social Security for a very significant portion or even all of their retirement income.”

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Work out a monthly budget of your income and expenditures, including utilities, property taxes, home insurance, mortgage payments, groceries and gas, and stick to it.

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Neither he nor his wife had a regular income.

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Related Words

• cash 
• compensation 
• earnings 
• interest 
• livelihood 
• pay 
• proceeds 
• profit 
• revenue 
• royalty 
• salary 
• wage