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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

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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

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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

In a call with analysts, Chairman and Chief Executive Kenneth Lay also divulged that the company had cut its shareholder equity by $1.2 billion, meaning Enron was suddenly worth a lot less money.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

The move, orchestrated by Everett to satisfy the demands of the company’s top-dollar backers, cheats Michael out of his stock options and equity in the company.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

He struggles to see how BOQ can improve return-on-tangible equity beyond 8%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

We have $500,000 in cash from downsizing, and $800,000 in home equity in our paid-off house.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

It wasn’t enough to create a sustainable equity fund, but it was a start.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Equity general secretary Paul Fleming said cast members were "angry" at the proposals.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Musk’s comments could be a way for him to negotiate down with Intel, said Luke Rahbari, CEO of Equity Armor Investments.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

Equity markets struggled following a day in the red for all three main indexes on Wall Street.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

This article was produced as a project for the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s 2026 California Health Equity Fellowship.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 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

Huang's "defence of CoreWeave's financial position was enough to pull the NeoCloud complex off the floor, drag AI equities higher and give the broader market something resembling a pulse", wrote SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

One rule Bank of America strategist Michael Hartnett has is to recommend selling global equities when fund managers’ average cash levels drop below 4%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

However, he’s also made timely past warnings of technology selloffs and advised investors to buy equities during an early stage of the pandemic.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

Investors this week didn’t abandon equities entirely, even if they did pour some capital back into the bond market.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

In pushing this work, it regards neither the equities of commercial law, nor the vested rights of others.

From Solaris Farm A Story of the Twentieth Century by Milan C. Edson

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