finance
Americannoun
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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)
verb (used without object)
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
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(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
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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
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financesimple
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financessimple
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have financedperfect
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has financedperfect
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am financingprogressive
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are financingprogressive
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is financingprogressive
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have been financingperfect progressive
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has been financingperfect progressive
Past
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financedsimple
-
had financedperfect
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was financingprogressive
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were financingprogressive
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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:
Dave earns £130,000 from his job in finance - more than three times what Becca earns from her business offering eyelash extensions.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
One character concludes that “if money is fiction, finance capital is the fiction of a fiction.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Munchetty joined BBC One's Breakfast as a finance reporter and has been one of the main hosts for the past 12 years.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
D&M is in talks with the Pentagon to help finance it, according to a person familiar with the matter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
It would have taken my father almost five years to come up with the money to finance the summer-long trip.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
Your answer probably says a lot about your finances.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
What’s more, Solyndra was credibly accused of misleading the government about its finances in order to secure backing, leading to the company being raided by the FBI.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Hull are keen on Leon Bailey but that may have to be an initial loan given the Tigers' own finances, while Evann Guessand can also depart.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
An improvement in the finances of working people at the lower end of the economic scale might help explain why their spending on both essentials and discretionary items has accelerated recently, some economists said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
She was so hyped on espresso when she taped her audition that “I sounded like I was speaking chipmunk” But she didn’t seem too disappointed, especially since her finances are okay now.
From "Liar, Liar" by Gary Paulsen
Formerly, data centers were financed by the tech companies’ cash on hand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Sizable deals, as well as deals financed in large part by debt, have higher failure rates — and both are true about the Paramount-Warner deal.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
It was a major win for media mogul David Ellison -- his father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, largely financed the takeover and is a Trump ally.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
Partly financed by crowdfunding, she opened Book Lovers Bookstore and will celebrate its two-year anniversary next month.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
Lady Jane Franklin, Franklin’s wealthy and determined wife, instigated and even financed several of the searches.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
“Financial advisers play an important role in helping clients navigate financing decisions as part of a broader wealth-management relationship,” Morgan Stanley’s spokesman said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Analysts also warn of circular financing -- where big tech companies invest in AI startups, which then use that money to buy big tech's own products and services.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
OpenAI, an unprofitable private company, plans to lease the project; the $250 billion pledge would help its backers get better terms on the financing necessary to build it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Rising capital expenditures and declining free cash flow mean these companies may become increasingly reliant on external financing, whether through debt or equity.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
“Oh, it’s a terrific plan. It could really ramp up our timetable. Get us to our financing source sooner. I just have one concern. One qualm.”
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
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.
