dividend

American  

[div-i-dend] / ˈdɪv ɪˌdɛnd /

noun

• dividends
  plural

1. Mathematics. a number that is to be divided by a divisor.

2. Law. a sum out of an insolvent estate paid to creditors.

3. Finance.

   1. a pro-rata share in an amount to be distributed.

   2. a sum of money paid to shareholders of a corporation out of earnings.

4. Insurance. (in participating insurance) a distribution to a policyholder of a portion of the premium not needed by the company to pay claims or to meet expenses.

5. a share of anything divided.

   Synonyms:

   portion, allotment

6. anything received as a bonus, reward, or in addition to or beyond what is expected.

   Swimming is fun, and gives you the dividend of better health.

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dividend British  

/ ˈdɪvɪˌdɛnd /

noun

1. finance

   1. a distribution from the net profits of a company to its shareholders

   2. a pro-rata portion of this distribution received by a shareholder

2. the share of a cooperative society's surplus allocated at the end of a period to members

3. insurance a sum of money distributed from a company's net profits to the holders of certain policies

4. something extra; bonus

5. a number or quantity to be divided by another number or quantity Compare divisor

6. law the proportion of an insolvent estate payable to the creditors

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dividend Scientific  

/ dĭv′ĭ-dĕnd′ /

1. A number divided by another. In the equation 15 ÷ 3 = 5, 15 is the dividend.

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dividend Cultural  

1. A payment to the stockholders of a corporation from the corporation's earnings.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• superdividend
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dividends
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of dividend

First recorded in 1470–80; from Latin dīvidendum “thing to be divided,” neuter gerund of dīvidere “to separate”; see divide

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Explanation

A dividend is a bonus. If you buy a cup of coffee and the shop owner throws in a free muffin, that's a dividend. Your charm and loyal patronage are paying dividends! If you own stock and your company has had a good year, you’ll probably get a dividend — a share of the profit the company pays to shareholders. You've probably also heard the word dividend in math class: if you've got 300 divided by 50, 300 is the dividend (and 50 is the divisor).

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dividend dividends

But it comes with some safeguards: The tokens permitted by the SEC exemptions will carry the same shareholder rights granted to investors in traditional stocks, including dividend payouts and proxy votes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

The dividend yield for the S&P 500 is paltry, at just over 1%.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

There was less interest in Legal & General, which might only cover its dividend cost with net surplus generation by 2027.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

The respective dividend yields according to FactSet are 6.5% and 3.5%.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

Tire peace dividend changed the region once again, and now it is best known for the great gambling casinos of Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods and for the pharmaceutical researchers of Pfizer.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

The sector is attractively priced after a lackluster year, and offers healthy dividends and robust earnings growth.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

This doesn't generate a sense of a wider footballing vision that is paying dividends.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

Yield, for the record, is also different from return; it represents the income generated — like interest and dividends — while return refers to the overall net gain/loss.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

Telstra, which remains Australia’s largest telco and pays hundreds of millions of dollars in annual shareholder dividends, has a market capitalization of more than US$37 billion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Both of these decisions paid dividends the following year, when the prospects for an outright declaration of war against France looked virtually certain.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

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Related Words

• allowance
• bonus
• coupon
• gain
• premium
• proceeds
• remittance
• reward
• surplus

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