equity
Americannoun
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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
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something that is fair and just.
The concepts and principles of health equities and inequities are important to society as a whole.
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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.
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Law.
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Also called chancery. the application of the dictates of conscience or the principles of natural justice to the settlement of controversies.
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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.
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an equitable or legally valid right or claim.
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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.
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Informal. ownership, especially when considered as the right to share in future profits or appreciation in value.
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the interest of the owner of common stock in a corporation.
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(in a margin account) the excess of the market value of the securities over any indebtedness.
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Equity. Actors' Equity Association.
noun
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the quality of being impartial or reasonable; fairness
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an impartial or fair act, decision, etc
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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
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law an equitable right or claim
equity of redemption
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the interest of ordinary shareholders in a company
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the market value of a debtor's property in excess of all debts to which it is liable
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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."
Vocabulary lists containing equity
The Constitution of the United States
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 19–24
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Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Where difficulties will arise is in the sectors where the cheap-money era is most embedded: private equity and private credit.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
—European equity indexes largely edged higher in early trading after sharp selling in the last session.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Earnings quadrupled on paper, but an analyst calls that an “illusory” performance propped up by unrealized gains from equity investments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
EasyJet is at the centre of a bidding war between two US private equity firms vying for ownership of the carrier that flies mainly across Europe.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
This time the Treasury charged a lot for the loans and took most of the equity.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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Equity markets haven't seen such activity since central banks eased up on corporate financing as part of efforts to prop up economies whiplashed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Tyler Evans, a health physician and the co-founder of the Wellness Equity Alliance, said the system is only as good as the doctors who are willing to ask patients questions.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
Watt - who co‑founded the firm with Martin Dickie in Aberdeenshire almost 20 years ago - said investors in Brewdog's "Equity for Punks" scheme would receive shares "for free" if his takeover bid was successful.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Ben Affleck’s production company Artists Equity was awarded a $7 million tax credit for its indie film “Gingerbread Men,” which has a budget higher than $10 million.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
Vinny, who had just coauthored a gloomy report called “A Home without Equity Is Just a Rental with Debt,” came right away.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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In the meantime, while waiting for these trends to develop and intensify, Gromen is bullish on U.S. electrical infrastructure equities, owing to the bottlenecks around power generation.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
More than a third of U.S. equities are owned by foreign investors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Because that “certainly would cause some risk around equities and valuations.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
—European equities were mixed in early trade as a rally in technology stocks stutters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
The equities in these cases are in favor of the buyer, who is presumed to have purchased a perfect copy.
From A Book for All Readers An Aid to the Collection, Use, and Preservation of Books and the Formation of Public and Private Libraries by Spofford, Ainsworth Rand
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.