asset

[ as-et ]

/ ˈæs ɛt /

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See synonyms for: asset / assets on Thesaurus.com

noun

a useful and desirable thing or quality: Organizational ability is an asset.

a single item of ownership having exchange value: Our summer home is an asset we're not willing to sell.

(in intelligence) a person followed or spied upon to obtain information: as a participant in an operation, an asset may be consenting, forced, as by blackmail, or unaware of being used: It was a catalog of virtually every CIA asset within the Soviet Union.Compare confidential informant.

Digital Technology. one of the media components that, taken together, comprise all of the elements of a video game, such as the environments, objects, character art and animation, and sound design: All of the game assets are downloaded to your hard drive during the install, so slow load times are local and indicate a problem with your drive.

assets. See entry at assets.

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Origin of asset

First recorded in 1525–35; back formation from assets, in phrase have assets, literally, “have enough (to pay obligations),” from Anglo-French, Old French asez “enough,” from unattested Vulgar Latin ad satis “to sufficiency”; see also assai¹

OTHER WORDS FROM asset

as·set·less, adjective

Words nearby asset

assessed value, assessing, assessment, assessment arrangements, assessor, asset, asset-backed fund, assets, asset-stripping, asset value, asseverate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use asset in a sentence

A rising China can be a significant asset for the region and the world, and selfishly, for the United States.
Trump’s most popular YouTube ad is a stew of manipulated video|Glenn Kessler, Meg Kelly|September 17, 2020|Washington Post
However, search bars are a valuable asset that can increase internal sessions and conversion.
How to drive digital innovation necessary during the pandemic|Nick Chasinov|September 16, 2020|Search Engine Watch
It helps establish your company as an entity, which in itself is a great asset to your SEO.
8 major Google ranking factors — SEO guide|Sponsored Content: SEO PowerSuite|September 15, 2020|Search Engine Land
At the same time, they have all but stopped lending money for the higher-end properties worth too much for the government to accept, suggesting that the banks are knowingly passing climate liabilities along to taxpayers as stranded assets.
Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration|by Abrahm Lustgarten, photography by Meridith Kohut|September 15, 2020|ProPublica

The emphasis has shifted away from obsessing over consistency of tone and protecting brand assets.
Deep Dive: How the Summer of 2020 forced brand marketing to change for the better|jim cooper|September 14, 2020|Digiday
First, his credentials: He did international mergers and acquisitions at Lazard, a financial and asset management firm.
Sen. Warren’s Main Street Crusade to Pressure Clinton|Eleanor Clift|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
What had been the greatest asset of the paperback revolution,” observes Rabinowitz, “became its greatest danger.
How Pulp Fiction Saved Literature|Wendy Smith|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Its biggest asset, of course, is the steely Atwell, who never asks you to feel sorry for Carter despite all the sexism around her.
Marvel’s ‘Agent Carter’ Stomps on the Patriarchy|Melissa Leon|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Perhaps one of the most egregious examples is the abuse of civil asset forfeiture laws.
Are Police Stealing People’s Property?|Joan Blades, Matt Kibbe|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
At the same time she became an accomplished social and political asset to her boss.
Murdoch on the Rocks: How a Lone Reporter Revealed the Mogul's Tabloid Terror Machine|Clive Irving|August 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In such incompetent hands the malt business soon fell to be a liability rather than an asset.
The Eve of the Revolution|Carl Becker
In an army thoroughly disorganised a good draughtsman with an eye for country was no despicable asset.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
But that he did not count an asset, because he had not himself taken account of this new capital.
You Never Know Your Luck, Complete|Gilbert Parker
The whole thing wasn't any bigger an asset than a job as a section hand on the U P.
David Lannarck, Midget|George S. Harney
Getting out the Standing Room Only sign is always an asset for future entertainments.
David Lannarck, Midget|George S. Harney

British Dictionary definitions for asset

asset

/ (ˈæsɛt) /

noun

anything valuable or usefulexperience is their main asset See also assets

Word Origin for asset

C19: back formation from assets

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for asset

asset

A possession that can be turned into cash to cover liabilities.

notes for asset

Commonly, the term denotes anything of value.

asset

Origin of asset

OTHER WORDS FROM asset

Words nearby asset

Words related to asset

How to use asset in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for asset

Word Origin for asset

Cultural definitions for asset

notes for asset