Jump To:

• 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.

---

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

---

Equity ² British  

/ ˈɛkwɪtɪ /

noun

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

---

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.

---

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.

---

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

The first is that for many people ages 65 and over, the equity in their primary residence is a major source of wealth.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

On an adjusted basis, return on equity widened to 14%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Shares in Ozon fell by as much as 12% on the Moscow Exchange on Monday morning, while shares in its major shareholder, private equity firm AFK Sistema, fell by almost 13%.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

Of the nine indicators plotted in the above chart, the one with the best statistical track record is the average U.S. household’s equity allocation.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026

He started as a junior equity analyst, a helpmate, not expected to offer his own opinions.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Equity investors will look to earnings from U.S. retail giant Walmart.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Equity investors might not be ready for what comes next, according to one Wall Street strategist.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

FSG bought Liverpool for £300 million in 2010 and sold a minority stake of around three percent to global sports investment firm Dynasty Equity three years ago.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

This is not the first time outside money has been accepted by FSG, with global sports investment firm Dynasty Equity purchasing 3% for an undisclosed amount in 2023.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

“Shorting Home Equity Mezzanine Tranches” was just a fancy way to describe Mike Burry’s idea of betting against U.S. home loans: buying credit default swaps on the crappiest triple-B slices of subprime mortgage bonds.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Still, equities struggled as tech firms once again bore the brunt of selling, tracking a retreat in their counterparts on Wall Street.

From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026

“We joke internally that we’re all Nvidia analysts now,” said David Lefkowitz, head of U.S. equities at UBS Global Wealth Management.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

For stock markets, the worry is that higher bond yields will lure investors away from perceived riskier equities and raise the cost of capital for corporate entities.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

There has been “another risk-off session as U.S. equities sold off for a third straight session” overnight, UOB’s Global Economics & Markets Research team says in a report.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

In case of trespass or disagreement the parties come or are summoned before the agent, who examines the case on its merits, weighs the facts and the equities, decides; and there the quarrel ends.

From Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. 26, August, 1880 of Popular Literature and Science by Various

Related Words

• capital
• investment