assets

American  

[as-ets] / ˈæs ɛts /

plural noun

1. Finance. items or resources owned by a person, business, or government, as cash, notes and accounts receivable, securities, inventories, goodwill, fixtures, machinery, or real estate (opposed to liabilities).

   Infrastructure assets, such as telecommunications systems, are not as available or as reliable in developing countries.

   Depreciation applies only to tangible assets, which are the assets that exist in physical form, like vehicles, computers, etc.

2. Accounting. the items detailed on a balance sheet, especially in relation to liabilities and capital.

   The balance sheet lists assets and liabilities in order of liquidity; in other words, the assets most easily converted to cash are listed first.

3. Law. all property available for the payment of debts for a bankrupt or insolvent business or person, or the payment of legacies or debts for a deceased person.

   It is the job of the receiver to sell your assets and distribute the proceeds to your creditors.

4. Informal. parts of a person’s body seen as sexual or attractive, especially a woman’s breasts or buttocks.

   That slinky, shiny outfit really shows off her assets.

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assets British  

/ ˈæsɛts /

plural noun

1. accounting the property and claims against debtors that a business enterprise may apply to discharge its liabilities. Assets may be fixed, current, liquid, or intangible and are shown balanced against liabilities Compare liabilities

2. law the property available to an executor or administrator for settlement of the debts and payment of legacies of the estate of a deceased or insolvent person

3. any property owned by a person or firm

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Etymology

Origin of assets

First recorded in 1300–50, for a previous sense; in phrase have assets “have enough (to pay obligations)”; see asset ( def. )

Explanation

Your assets are things you have that are valuable. Money, property, and skills are all assets. When you talk about assets, you're talking about things that are good to have: they're worth something or they're useful. Money is certainly an asset. A house you own is an asset. If you're an employer, good employees are assets to the company. Personal qualities can be assets, too: if you're smart, brave, or even just good looking, consider it an asset.

Example Sentences

The stock market’s selloff Thursday likely explains digital assets’ weakness over the past 24 hours.

From Barron's • Mar. 6, 2026

Then there’s the question of protecting teams against the threat of their prized assets’ getting hurt—a complicated issue that has already put a damper on the WBC before the first pitch has even been thrown.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026

That often leads these assets’ volatilities to be underreported — a practice known as volatility laundering.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 14, 2025

Real estate assets benefit from depreciation rules — developers can reduce their taxes every year by an amount reflecting their commercial assets’ ostensible deterioration in value year by year.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2022

To draw on my intellect and get for answer 'no assets' would, I feel, overwhelm me utterly.

From Charles Lever, His Life in His Letters, Vol. II by Downey, Edmund