amortize

American  

[am-er-tahyz, uh-mawr-tahyz] / ˈæm ərˌtaɪz, əˈmɔr taɪz /

especially British, amortise

verb (used with object)

amortized, amortizing

1. Finance.

   1. to liquidate or extinguish (a mortgage, debt, or other obligation), especially by periodic payments to the creditor or to a sinking fund.

   2. to write off a cost of (an asset) gradually.

2. Old English Law. to convey to a corporation or church group; alienate in mortmain.

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amortize British  

/ əˈmɔːtaɪz /

verb

1. finance to liquidate (a debt, mortgage, etc) by instalment payments or by periodic transfers to a sinking fund

2. to write off (a wasting asset) by annual transfers to a sinking fund

3. property law (formerly) to transfer (lands, etc) in mortmain

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Other Word Forms

• amortizable adjective
• nonamortizable adjective
• unamortized adjective

Etymology

Origin of amortize

1375–1425; Middle English amortisen < Anglo-French, Old French amortiss-, long stem of amortir literally, to kill, die < Vulgar Latin *a ( d ) mortīre (derivative of Latin mors, stem mort- death, with ad- ad- ); -ize later replacing -is ( s )-, probably by association with Anglo-Latin a ( d ) mortizāre

Example Sentences

Warner’s $252-million quarterly loss was a byproduct of a $1.3 billion write-down as Warner continues to amortize restructuring charges stemming from the 2022 merger with Zaslav’s Discovery.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2026

And Musk’s 2018 pay award was valued at about $56 billion, or $8 billion a year, if investors amortize it over seven years.

From Barron's • Nov. 7, 2025

Banks offering these products have reported that about C$260 billion of these amortize after 35 years, he added.

From Reuters • Sep. 7, 2023

Student loans are structured to amortize like a mortgage, with debtors mostly paying interest early on and principle later.

From Slate • Mar. 24, 2021

This weakened their balance sheets considerably and the government reneged on its promises to allow them to amortize the goodwill element of the purchase over 40 years.

From Crime and Corruption by Vaknin, Samuel