annuity
Americannoun
plural
annuities-
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
-
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
- superannuity noun
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
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.
These state regulators’ duties grew more complex as private-equity managers started snapping up life and annuity insurers and began moving their insurance money into private-credit investments.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
Of the about $6 trillion in invested assets held by life and annuity companies, nearly $1 trillion is now in private-credit investments, according to A.M.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
That poll, commissioned by the annuity provider Global Atlantic, canvassed just over 1,000 consumers between the ages of 55 and 75 with between $250,000 and $2 million in investible assets.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
So today’s annuity rates partly reflect the lower yields on bonds that were available a few weeks ago, before the start of the war.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 24, 2026
He prefers money as a concept and often uses terms such as annuity and fiduciary, words definitely not listed in the dictionary of mindless entertainment.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
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.
