income

American  

[in-kuhm] / ˈɪn kʌm /

noun

• incomes
  plural

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 British  

/ 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 Cultural  

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

Derived Forms

• incomeless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• incomes
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of income

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; see in, come

---

Explanation

What could be simpler than to remember that income basically refers to money that "comes in," or is earned. Your income is the money you make in a given time period, for example weekly, monthly, or annually. Your income might come from many sources — salary, investments, interest or annuities. Today income is used as a noun, but the Old English word incuman was first a verb that meant "to come in," and referred to the money earned through one's labor or business dealings. The first income tax was attempted in Britain in 1404, but was so unpopular it was ended. In the United States, the Federal Income Tax became law in 1913, and, unfortunately, is still in effect.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

income incomes

Joko, 51, a construction worker, said he had no choice but to keep on working or he would lose out on income.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

Lane said it is important the WWT have surplus income so that they can "do the conservation work that is part of their mission".

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

"The haze has a big impact on us, especially on health and the economy, with our income decreasing," said Marzuki, a 38-year-old mechanic who like many in Indonesia, goes by only one name.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

It also expects retail sales growth to slow to 0.3% as uncertain job prospects, slower income growth and subdued property prices weigh on consumption.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

“Surprising, isn’t it? Technically I guess Pasqual is more of a partner. And really, they are all partners in a way—they share the income from their work with you, the company head.”

From "Lawn Boy" by Gary Paulsen

Japan tightened rules for permanent residency this month, with foreigners required to have higher annual incomes and greater fluency in Japanese.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

One proposal under review would scrap annual cost-of-living adjustments altogether for beneficiaries with higher incomes.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

With people on lower incomes more likely to be obese, Dr Strachan said the gap between private and NHS access was also increasing health inequalities.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

That means many Americans are seeing their real incomes fall.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

Within a few years, their incomes rose 20 percent and their English improved greatly.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

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

---