capital gain

American  

noun

1. profit from the sale of assets, as bonds or real estate.

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capital gain British  

noun

1. the amount by which the selling price of a financial asset exceeds its cost

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capital gain Cultural  

1. Personal income earned by the sale of assets, such as stocks or real property. The gain is the difference between the price paid for the asset and the selling price. Most conservatives want capital gains taxed at a lower rate than ordinary income in order to stimulate investment, whereas most liberals oppose a lower rate for capital gains as a subsidy for the wealthy.

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Etymology

Origin of capital gain

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

The key drawback to the strategy is that selling the stock incurs a capital gain, and few investors like paying capital-gains taxes, even if it makes sense from a risk-management perspective.

From Barron's • Apr. 29, 2026

The goal is capital gain, and there’s nothing and no one that can’t be quite literally massaged in the pursuit of that target.

From Salon • Mar. 1, 2026

But for investors concerned about taxable capital-gain distributions, Kalivas said that the ETF structure’s tax advantages meant that it had never distributed a capital gain.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 22, 2026

The French company expects the deal to result in a net capital gain after tax of 820 million euros in 2026.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 8, 2025

If, as I am inclined to believe, your view can be widely extended, it will be a capital gain to the doctrine of evolution.

From More Letters of Charles Darwin — Volume 1 by Darwin, Francis, Sir