annuity
Americannoun
-
annuities
plural
-
a specified income payable at stated intervals for a fixed or a contingent period, often for the recipient's life, in consideration of a stipulated premium paid either in prior installment payments or in a single payment.
-
the right to receive such an income, or the duty to make such a payment or payments.
noun
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a fixed sum payable at specified intervals, esp annually, over a period, such as the recipient's life, or in perpetuity, in return for a premium paid either in instalments or in a single payment
-
the right to receive or the duty to pay such a sum
Discover More
Many people's retirement funds are set up to be paid in annuities.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of annuity
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Anglo-French annuité, annualté, from Medieval Latin annuitās, equivalent to Latin annu(us) “yearly,” derivative of annus “year” + -itās -ity
Explanation
An annuity is money that comes from an investment and is paid out regularly over a fixed period of time. You can buy an insurance policy that is an annuity, or you can choose an annuity as one of your retirement fund options. The noun annuity is from the Latin word annus, meaning "year." Indeed, annuities typically pay out on a year basis, although other terms are possible. If you win a large amount of money in the lottery, you can usually choose to take a lump-sum payment or smaller payments paid every year over some term, like 20 or 25 years. Figuring out which payment plan is best for you would be a nice problem to have!
Vocabulary lists containing annuity
This Week in Words: October 21- 27, 2018
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Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - High School
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Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The best way to illustrate this equilibrium is with annuity payout rates — how much monthly income you could purchase with a given amount of money.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
That yield currently is higher than it’s been in years, and so is the monthly income that could be purchased with such an annuity.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
But if you put a chunk of your investable wealth into a lifetime annuity, you have less access to that cash.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
If the assets don’t clear the hurdle rate, the grantor simply gets their money back through the annuity payments, leaving a balance of zero.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
Mollie’s parents were warned that if they didn’t comply, the government would withhold its annuity payments, leaving the family starving.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Advisers often recommend that these clients purchase annuities, which are insurance products that are complicated, hard to compare and have high commissions.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
Sales campaigns for fixed-indexed annuities in particular have drawn concern from regulators.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
The price tag for annuities starts at around $5,000 or less, making them widely accessible, and higher interest rates in recent years have enhanced their appeal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
For millennials and younger generations — many of whom are automatically invested in target-date funds in their workplace plans — that means that they may seamlessly flow into annuities by the time they retire.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
The free-school was erected and liberally endowed by David Hughes, Esq., in the year 1603, who ten years afterwards founded also an excellent alms-house for six poor persons, to whom he granted small annuities.
From Curiosities of Great Britain: England and Wales Delineated Vol.1-11 Historical, Entertaining & Commercial; Alphabetically Arranged. 11 Volume set. by Thomas Cantrell Dugdale
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
