fund

American  

[fuhnd] / fʌnd /

noun

funds plural

1. a supply of money or pecuniary resources, as for some purpose.

   a fund for his education;

   a retirement fund.

2. supply; stock.

   a fund of knowledge;

   a fund of jewels.

   Synonyms:

   hoard, mine, fount, reservoir, store

3. funds, money immediately available; pecuniary resources.

   to be momentarily without funds.

4. an organization created to administer or manage a fund, as of money invested or contributed for some special purpose.

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verb (used with object)

funds, present (3rd person singular) funded, past participle, past funding present participle

1. to provide a fund to pay the interest or principal of (a debt).

2. to convert (general outstanding debts) into a more or less permanent debt, represented by interest-bearing bonds.

3. to allocate or provide funds for (a program, project, etc.).

fund British  

/ fʌnd /

noun

1. a reserve of money, etc, set aside for a certain purpose

2. a supply or store of something; stock

   it exhausted his fund of wisdom

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verb

1. to furnish money to in the form of a fund

2. to place or store up in a fund

3. to convert (short-term floating debt) into long-term debt bearing fixed interest and represented by bonds

4. to provide a fund for the redemption of principal or payment of interest of

5. to accumulate a fund for the discharge of (a recurrent liability)

   to fund a pension plan

6. to invest (money) in government securities See also funds

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• funder
  noun
• overfund
  noun
• underfunding
  noun
• nonfunded
  adjective
• underfunded
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• funds
  plural

Participles

• funding
  present
• funded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• fund
  simple
• funds
  simple
• have funded
  perfect
• has funded
  perfect
• am funding
  progressive
• are funding
  progressive
• is funding
  progressive
• have been funding
  perfect progressive
• has been funding
  perfect progressive

Past

• funded
  simple
• had funded
  perfect
• was funding
  progressive
• were funding
  progressive
• had been funding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will fund
  simple
• will have funded
  perfect
• will be funding
  progressive
• will have been funding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of fund

First recorded in 1670–80; from Latin fundus “bottom, estate”; replacing fond ² in most of its senses

Explanation

A fund is a supply of money to be used for a specific purpose. You can start a fund for almost anything, such as your child’s education, a new car, or the establishment of the world’s largest origami collection. Fund can be used as a verb meaning “provide funds for something.” If you’re unable to save up the money to start your origami collection, you might ask a friend to fund it. (We predict she’ll say no.) An organization that raises money for a particular, often charitable, purpose can also be called a fund. We doubt an origami collection warrants its own fund, but there's no harm in trying.

Example Sentences

If new sales stay this low, they will hurt fund managers, who depend on fund growth to boost their stock prices.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 3, 2026

Hannah Rose-Thorn, 30, says she "always gives £50 in a card" and found that the average contribution to her own honeymoon fund was the same.

From BBC • Jul. 2, 2026

There can be better ways to deploy your money to, say, invest smarter, reduce debt or fund future expenses.

From MarketWatch • Jul. 2, 2026

Andy Burnham has said he would take his responsibilities to fund the defence investment plan "extremely seriously" if he becomes prime minister.

From BBC • Jul. 2, 2026

He knew instinctively that the longer he waited, the more swollen the prize fund would become.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

• capital
• endowment
• foundation
• stock
• supply
• treasury
• trust