finance
Americannoun
-
the management of revenues; the conduct or transaction of money matters generally, especially those affecting the public, as in the fields of banking and investment.
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finances, the monetary resources, as of a government, company, organization, or individual; revenue.
verb (used with object)
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finances,
present (3rd person singular)
-
financed,
past participle, past
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financing
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
finances,
present (3rd person singular)
-
financed,
past participle, past
-
financing
present participle
noun
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the system of money, credit, etc, esp with respect to government revenues and expenditures
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funds or the provision of funds
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(plural) funds; financial condition
verb
-
(tr) to provide or obtain funds, capital, or credit for
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(intr) to manage or secure financial resources
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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superfinancenoun
-
prefinanceverb (used with object)
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self-financeverb (used with object)
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underfinanceverb (used with object)
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financeableadjective
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unfinancedadjective
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well-financedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
financesimple
-
financessimple
-
have financedperfect
-
has financedperfect
-
am financingprogressive
-
are financingprogressive
-
is financingprogressive
-
have been financingperfect progressive
-
has been financingperfect progressive
Past
-
financedsimple
-
had financedperfect
-
was financingprogressive
-
were financingprogressive
-
had been financingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of finance
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English finaunce, from Anglo-French, Middle French finance, from fin(er) “to end, settle, pay” ( see fine 2) + -ance -ance
Explanation
To finance something is to pay for it, like using the money you earn at your part-time job to finance your cell phone bill. As a verb, it carries two very different meanings: "to pay for" or "obtain on credit." So, if you can finance your trip, it means you have the money to pay for it. Anyone who works in finance, meaning the banking and investment industry, will tell you plenty of people get in trouble by letting credit cards finance things like vacations.
Vocabulary lists containing finance
"Women in Aviation," Vocabulary from the informational text
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Richard Nixon's "Checkers" Speech (1952)
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Economics
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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:
"If climate finance assistance can be made available for the maritime islands, it will be easy for us to get help," Lisati said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
Meanwhile, Sodipo’s finance team has built AI tools to replace third-party software providers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
The new company emerged heavily in debt — more than $80 billion — to finance the buyout of Warner Bros.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
But we question why the parents must move to a high-cost area and surrender essentially all of their assets to finance a property that the older brother insists on owning and controlling.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
One Friday evening a week later he told my mother that we would be on rations so he could save enough money to finance the trip.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
Before allocating any cash to pop-culture prediction markets or other event contracts, you need to make sure your finances are in order — and that you only play with money you’re comfortable putting at risk.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
He has proposed cutting at least 10 ministries and imposing a new cap on government spending to fix Brazil’s deteriorating public finances.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
But in 2022, a report by the University of Sheffield, called Manchester Offshored, raised questions about the wider public value of the schemes, and a lack of transparency around their finances.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
He said that while Walker was despondent about the change in their finances, his sister hadn’t seemed too demoralized.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
Knowing Maggie’s desperate finances, a Spiritualist scoffed, “for five dollars she would have denied her mother and would have sworn to anything.”
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Carney had initially said that the pipeline would be built and financed by the private sector.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
The average new-car buyer who financed in the second quarter borrowed $43,610 at 6.35% over 69.5 months, bringing their monthly payment to $765, according to the credit bureau Experian.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
A growing share of that spending is financed by debt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Additionally, roughly 90% of CoreWeave’s capital outlays are financed through delayed draw term loans secured directly by Nvidia hardware assets, creating a tangible collateral base for lenders.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
The Mellon family had financed a hospital called Hospital Albert Schweitzer, named for the famous German theologian and physician who had worked as a doctor in West Africa.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Palo Alto-based startup Turba Labs raised nearly $52 million in combined seed and Series A financing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
The credit firm, which provides financing to middle-market companies, said the funding would support the next phase of LIV Golf, under which players would become equity owners of both the league and its teams.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
That’s raised the costs of new mortgages, corporate borrowing and financing the $40 trillion national debt.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Another tough question is what happens to borrowers facing higher financing costs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
At my mother’s insistence, she, too, began school; the burden of financing both our educations rested entirely on my mother, even though my father tried to help from time to time.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
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.
