asset

American  

[as-et] / ˈæs ɛt /

noun

• assets
  plural

1. a useful and desirable thing or quality.

   Organizational ability is an asset.

2. a single item of ownership having exchange value.

   Our summer home is an asset we're not willing to sell.

3. 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.

4. (in intelligence and information gathering) a person followed or spied upon to obtain information, who may be consenting, forced, or unaware of being used.

   They threatened to release a catalog of virtually every CIA asset within the Soviet Union.

5. Military. a physical resource, such as a piece of equipment, vehicle, or building.

6. assets. see assets.

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asset British  

/ ˈæsɛt /

noun

1. anything valuable or useful See also assets

   experience is their main asset

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asset Cultural  

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

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Discover More

Commonly, the term denotes anything of value.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• assetless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• assets
  plural

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Etymology

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 assai ¹

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Explanation

An asset is something you have that is positive. It can mean a piece of property, a piece of equipment, an ability, or even a quality. "Her facility with math is an asset when it comes to figuring out the restaurant tab. She is an asset to the group." A person's overall financial picture is determined by lining up everything they own in the asset column, and everything they owe in the liability (or debit) column.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

asset assets

Another positive for the team: Tyronn Lue is a proven asset as coach and he’ll be tasked with developing and blending in the younger players.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026

The ambitious project has supporters, though, who see a historic opportunity to turn an old railroad into a regional asset — even if some of them question how it’s being developed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026

As women embrace watch collecting, they’re finding that their expertise can be an unexpected professional asset.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026

The decline in the gauge illustrates that the summer of the extreme bull has ended but, as Michael Hartnett’s weekly “Flow Show” notes, asset allocators are not underweight risk.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

But Dasch could get away with it because Kappe had confidence in Dasch's knowledge and expertise of America, which was an invaluable asset to the mission.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

A Two Sigma spokeswoman said the firm’s assets under management are at a record high, investor demand remains strong, and the current year’s performance ranks among the its best.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

Smaller brokerages are rushing to roll out AI-powered investing tools that can trade stocks, options and other assets on a customer’s behalf.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026

Pelinka mentioned the possibility of consolidation trades to reach the maximum number, but no transactions have materialized, especially with the Lakers trying to cling to their limited draft assets.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

Warburg, which oversees more than $110 billion in assets, first invested in a predecessor company of Allied called Universal Services of America in 2015.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

The assets of Egypt were still too valuable and could turn any ruler into a rival.

From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby

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Related Words

• aid
• benefit
• credit
• resource
• service

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