revenue

American  

[rev-uhn-yoo, -uh-noo] / ˈrɛv ənˌju, -əˌnu /

noun

• revenues
  plural

1. 

   the income of a government from taxation, excise duties, customs, or other sources, appropriated to the payment of the public expenses.

2. the government department charged with the collection of such income.

3. revenues, the collective items or amounts of income of a person, a state, etc.

4. the return or yield from any kind of property, patent, service, etc.; income.

5. an amount of money regularly coming in.

6. a particular item or source of income.

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revenue British  

/ ˈrɛvɪˌnjuː /

noun

1. the income accruing from taxation to a government during a specified period of time, usually a year

2. 1. a government department responsible for the collection of government revenue

   2. ( as modifier )

      revenue men

3. the gross income from a business enterprise, investment, property, etc

4. a particular item of income

5. something that yields a regular financial return; source of income

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revenue Cultural  

1. The income of local, state, or national governments.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonrevenue
  adjective
• revenual
  adjective
• revenued
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• revenues
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of revenue

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Middle French, noun use of feminine past participle of revenir “to return,” from Latin revenīre, equivalent to re- re- + venīre “to come ”

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Explanation

Revenue is money earned by a business, or income received by the government from taxes. The government is always interested in dreaming up new sources of revenue, and so is the average head of a company unless she doesn't want to be the head anymore. Revenue is from a French word meaning "to return or come back," and dollar returns are always a welcome thing. Declining advertising revenue will doom your website, no matter how great it is. If your lemonade stand is not making a profit, you might consider lowering costs. Maybe you could get cheaper lemonade mix? Or you might look for more creative and exciting ways to increase revenue––like raiding the pantry for cookies you can sell as well.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

revenue revenues

Revenue bonds are generally viewed as riskier than other types of government bonds, in part because they’re backed by the promise of revenue from a specific project — in this case, payment by individual borrowers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026

By the time Welch and Seinfeld sat down in late 1997, “Seinfeld” had already sold its first syndication cycle, which fetched an estimated then-record $500 million in revenue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

The “H3 Podcast” subseries fizzled out in 2021 due to revenue disputes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

Meta’s stock declined as concerns over heavy spending on AI overshadowed the 26% increase in third-quarter revenue the company reported on Wednesday.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

Certainly, he never made anywhere near a profit from the Fischer–Spassky match, despite the revenue from admissions fees, the sale of souvenirs, posters, television rights, etc.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Union Pacific said total operating revenues climbed 15% to $7.2 billion in the recent quarter, topping Wall Street models for $7.16 billion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

Net revenues jumped 15% to $1.6 billion, ahead of Wall Street models for $1.48 billion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

When Anthropic gathered public-market investors recently to whet their appetites for its initial public offering, executives highlighted ballooning revenues and rapidly advancing technology.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

But now, as advertising revenues fall, and viewers move away from long-term subscription services like Sky or TNT Sports, the industry is getting seriously worried.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

J. T.’s franchise quadrupled its revenues during this period.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

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Related Words

• credit
• dividend
• earnings
• fund
• gain
• interest
• pay
• proceeds
• receipt
• return
• salary
• stock
• wealth
• yield

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