investment

American  

[in-vest-muhnt] / ɪnˈvɛst mənt /

noun

• investments
  plural

1. the investing of money or capital in order to gain profitable returns, as interest, income, or appreciation in value.

2. a particular instance or mode of investing.

3. a thing invested in, as a business, a quantity of shares of stock, etc.

4. something that is invested; sum invested.

5. the act or fact of investing or state of being invested, as with a garment.

6. a devoting, using, or giving of time, talent, emotional energy, etc., as for a purpose or to achieve something.

   His investment in the project included more time than he cared to remember.

7. Biology. any covering, coating, outer layer, or integument, as of an animal or vegetable.

8. the act of investing with a quality, attribute, etc.

9. investiture with an office, dignity, or right.

10. a siege or blockade; the surrounding of a place with military forces or works, as in besieging.

11. Also called investment compound.  Metallurgy. a refractory material applied in a plastic state to a pattern to make a mold.

12. Archaic. a garment or vestment.

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investment British  

/ ɪnˈvɛstmənt /

noun

1. 1. the act of investing money

   2. the amount invested

   3. an enterprise, asset, etc, in which money is or can be invested

2. 1. the act of investing effort, resources, etc

   2. the amount invested

3. economics the amount by which the stock of capital (plant, machinery, materials, etc) in an enterprise or economy changes

4. biology the outer layer or covering of an organ, part, or organism

5. a less common word for investiture

6. the act of investing or state of being invested, as with an official robe, a specific quality, etc

7. rare the act of besieging with military forces, works, etc

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investment Cultural  

1. The purchase of property with the expectation that its value will increase over time.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonreinvestment
  noun
• overinvestment
  noun
• preinvestment
  noun
• reinvestment
  noun
• proinvestment
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• investments
  plural

Etymology

Origin of investment

First recorded in 1590–1600 investment for def. 12; 1605–15 investment for def. 1; invest + -ment

Explanation

You are making an investment when you put money into a business with the hopes that the business will grow and bring you a profit. Many consider a college education to be one of the best investments you can make. Besides money, you can put time, effort or emotional support into something and also call it an investment. Volunteering in an organization requires an investment of time and energy. You may hear someone say, "We must make an investment in the future of our children," when he or she is pleading for fiscal responsibility, education, environmental protection or some other cause that will affect the success of future generations.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

investment investments

They were also more likely to invest in startups that already carried debt, or where the venture firm had no previous experience in the industry—all markers of higher investment risk.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

The investment implication of this new research is that long-term investors need not obsess about demographic projections when picking countries in which to invest.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

Part of the problem is weak domestic investment, which analysts say is partly thwarted by structural flaws.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Though demographic determinism has a long history, in recent decades it perhaps has been most widely associated in the investment arena with financial analyst and author Harry Dent.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

“Bobby. He’s an investment banker. You know what an investment banker does?”

From "Eleven" by Tom Rogers

But the status of such investments came into question when Walter unexpectedly sold his majority stake in the Lakers to Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner last month.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Here is how you can compare the yields of corporate bonds, municipal bonds and Treasury bonds if you want to factor in your particular tax situation when selecting investments for income.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

Fred Ehrsam, a Trump administration ally and co-founder of Coinbase, lived for months in a luxury Caracas hotel pursuing investments in Venezuela.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Markets went on to have a massive bull run as they recovered from the financial crisis of 2008, helping boost his index-fund investments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

“Let’s just say I’ve got some...investments, some investments that should be coming through any day now.”

From "Ruby Holler" by Sharon Creech

Related Words

• asset
• contribution
• expenditure
• expense
• finance
• financing
• grant
• loan
• money
• property
• purchase
• stake
• transaction
• venture