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

One of the biggest items in his in-tray will be the question of how to fund the UK's rising defence spending.

From BBC • Jul. 2, 2026

Once you build a sufficient emergency fund, weigh whether you’ll face a big expense in the next few years.

From MarketWatch • Jul. 2, 2026

Oman has held discussions with oil and shipping companies to see if they would be ready to contribute to the fund, they said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 2, 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

It’d take me six months to set up a hedge fund.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

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