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

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

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

If an asset bubble forms then pops, central banks will deal with the aftereffects later.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

In a default, the lender holds an asset that lost its buyers at the moment it needed one.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

The world’s largest digital asset hit its highest level since June after the president hosted a pro-crypto rally at the White House.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

Treasurys, long the world’s preferred “safe” asset, are looking less safe.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

She knew Sasha would be fine at school—if anything, the skirts gave them a little extra cachet at Maybeck, where unconventionality was an asset.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater

John and Mary, who are in their mid-70s, have traditional IRA assets of $3.5 million and total income of $260,000.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

“These are assets with qualities that cannot be replicated by technology,” the homepage reads.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Treasurys toward alternative assets amid uncertainty clouding the fixed income market and growing concerns about the sustainability of U.S. public debt, XS.com senior market analyst Samer Hasn says in a note.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

To those of us who have worked in digital assets for years, this is a familiar movie, and we know how damaging the ending can be without federal pre-emption.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

The group with homes, investments, and other assets worth more than $10 million comprised 338,400 households in 2001, the last year for which data are available.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

Related Words

• aid
• benefit
• credit
• resource
• service