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• equity
  equity

  noun

  the quality of being fair or impartial; fairness; impartiality.
• Equity
  Equity

  noun

  the actors' trade union

equity

American  

[ek-wi-tee] / ˈɛk wɪ ti /

noun

• equities
  plural

1. the quality of being fair or impartial; fairness; impartiality.

   the equity of Solomon.

   Synonyms:

   justice, objectivity, justness, disinterest

   Antonyms:

   discrimination, bias, injustice, prejudice, partisanship, partiality, inequity

2. something that is fair and just.

   The concepts and principles of health equities and inequities are important to society as a whole.

3. the policy or practice of accounting for the differences in each individual’s starting point when pursuing a goal or achievement, and working to remove barriers to equal opportunity, as by providing support based on the unique needs of individual students or employees.

4. Law.

   1. Also called chancery.  the application of the dictates of conscience or the principles of natural justice to the settlement of controversies.

   2. Also called chancery.  a system of jurisprudence or a body of doctrines and rules developed in England and followed in the U.S., serving to supplement and remedy the limitations and the inflexibility of the common law.

   3. an equitable or legally valid right or claim.

   4. equity of redemption.

5. the monetary value of a property or business beyond any amounts owed on it in mortgages, claims, liens, etc..

   Over the years, they have carefully avoided tapping into their home equity for unnecessary expenses.

6. Informal. ownership, especially when considered as the right to share in future profits or appreciation in value.

7. the interest of the owner of common stock in a corporation.

8. (in a margin account) the excess of the market value of the securities over any indebtedness.

9. Equity. Actors' Equity Association.

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equity ¹ British  

/ ˈɛkwɪtɪ /

noun

1. the quality of being impartial or reasonable; fairness

2. an impartial or fair act, decision, etc

3. law a system of jurisprudence founded on principles of natural justice and fair conduct. It supplements the common law and mitigates its inflexibility, as by providing a remedy where none exists at law

4. law an equitable right or claim

   equity of redemption

5. the interest of ordinary shareholders in a company

6. the market value of a debtor's property in excess of all debts to which it is liable

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Equity ² British  

/ ˈɛkwɪtɪ /

noun

1. Full name: Actors' Equity Association.  the actors' trade union

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equity ¹ Cultural  

1. In real estate, the financial value of someone's property over and above the amount the person owes on mortgages. For example, if you buy a house for $100,000, paying $20,000 down and borrowing $80,000, your equity in the house is $20,000. As you pay off the principal of the loan, your equity will rise.

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equity ² Cultural  

1. A body of rules or customs based on general principles of fair play rather than on common law or statutory law.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• equities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of equity

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English equite, equitee, equyte, from Old French equité, from Latin aequitāt-, stem of aequitās “evenness, smoothness, fairness”; see equi-, -ty ²

Explanation

Equity is the state or quality of being fair. In classrooms, it's important to establish equity as any hint of unfairness turns everyone against the teacher. In finance, equity refers to the value of a business or piece of property after subtracting the amount of the mortgage. Also in finance, equities are stocks, in contrast to bonds. Equity is from Middle English equite, from Old French équité, from Latin aequitas "equality," from aequus "equal."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

equity Equity equities

This is so that there is "equity of access" regardless of where people live, he said.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

It asked developers to formulate a plan for how to raise the remainder of the money needed, either through private equity, tax exempt bonds or other mechanisms.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

Han previously told the Journal that Windrose raised $100 million in equity and was in the process of raising a further $100 million in equity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

Saravelos notes that for the first time ever, outside of the global financial crisis, equity inflows into the U.S. are larger than those into Treasurys.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026

They have about $100,000 equity in the house and about $10,000 in college funds they started for the girls last year.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

She helps facilitate the Outdoor Equity program aimed at helping young people of color find belonging in outdoor spaces through hiking, camping, and kayaking, while advocating around environmental racism and access to nature.

From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2026

The results showed that “there is still no end in sight to the AI infrastructure build-out,” Joe Tigay, portfolio manager at Equity Armor Investments, wrote in a note last week.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026

Equity investors haven’t reacted much to the recent turmoil in bonds, focusing instead on the end of another blockbuster earnings season—and potentially their summer vacations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Equity Residential, which owns about 15,000 apartments in the L.A. metro area, did not respond to a list of questions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

Lippmann, who was forever adding data to his presentation, produced his latest version of “Shorting Mezzanine Home Equity Tranches” and walked Fewings through his argument.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchard, global head of equities for UBS Wealth Management, also recommends that investors interested in humanoids take a look at the companies enabling them.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 5, 2026

That is based on benchmark index performances and assumes an asset mix that is almost half fixed-income, with the rest mainly in public equities and alternatives.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

He added: “Prepare for a selloff, especially in long-duration equities like tech and AI.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

"At these levels, higher yields are clearly a headwind to Asian equities, especially longer duration tech stocks."

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

As the goods are sold, so are the equities in them released, and the balance is credited to the mill.

From The Fabric of Civilization A Short Survey of the Cotton Industry in the United States by Guaranty Trust Company of New York

Related Words

• capital
• investment