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• equity
  equity

  noun

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

  noun

  the actors' trade union

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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

Musk holds a 48.4% equity stake in SpaceX, which represents approximately 6.42 billion shares across common stock, options and unvested performance awards, according to an August SEC filing.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

That said, Lerner believes broader participation in the rally would strengthen the bull market further as equity markets “are generally healthier” when a wider group of stocks is advancing.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

Nvidia also changed its cash-flow presentation last quarter to fully separate debt securities from equity securities in the section on investing activities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

The current equity bull market will pass its four-year mark early next week.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

Steve Eisman had started out running a $60 million equity fund but was now short around 600 million dollars’ worth of various subprime-related securities, and he wanted to short more.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Equity concerns drove some universities across the nation to eliminate standardized testing requirements for admission.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026

Equity investors may think credit spreads do not matter to them.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

Data-security company Cyera has raised $400 million from Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, the private markets arm of the banking giant’s asset-management division.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

Earlier this year, Alixpartners confirmed that investors in the Equity for Punks scheme would get no return on their shares.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 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

The firm’s quantitative team also is calling for a “small” short position in U.S. stocks as they prefer emerging-market equities.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

European equities were set to perform in line with global peers after a period of underperformance, Bank of America said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Tokenization also expands overseas access to U.S. stocks, allowing anyone in the world to hold whole or fractional shares of blue-chip equities in the same digital wallet as their crypto assets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

While the steps helped stem the rupee's losses, the currency has faced fresh challenges as foreign investors continue to dump Indian equities and crude hovers around $100 a barrel.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

The possession of no mere commodity, whatever its value, will compensate a country for the destruction of any considerable portion of its money, upon the entire volume of which vast equities rest.

From Money: Speech of Hon. John P. Jones, of Nevada, On the Free Coinage of Silver; in the United States Senate, May 12 and 13, 1890 by John P. (John Percival) Jones

Related Words

• capital
• investment