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

Explanation

To amortize is to gradually pay off a debt. A bank will help you amortize a loan so that you can make a monthly payment until you've paid back the entire amount. A simple way to understand the verb amortize is "make monthly payments on a debt." More specifically, to amortize is to pay down the total amount of the loan a little bit at a time, rather than only covering fees or interest on top of the loan amount. Someone whose bank amortizes their car loan makes a payment each month, gradually reducing the total amount they owe. Amortize stems from a Vulgar Latin word meaning "extinguish."

Example Sentences

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

"The concessionaire is getting another 35 years to manage that railway, thus he also has another 35 years to amortize the unamortized assets. So why is he deducting that sum from the concession payment?"

From Reuters • Nov. 13, 2023

We want to move to an all-inclusive pricing, where if hosts have a fixed cost, they can amortize that fixed cost.

From Slate • Oct. 6, 2023

“Seventy-thousand dollars — you amortize it over 10 to 15 years, whatever the dog’s life is, and it’s not that big of a price tag.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2023

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