income

American  

[in-kuhm] / ˈɪn kʌm /

noun

incomes plural

1. revenue received for goods or services, or from other sources, as rents or investments.

   For years, her only source of income was the small number of stocks her father left her.

2. the money, or amount of money, received from one’s employment.

   a household with three incomes;

   a healthcare worker with an income that hasn’t increased in five years.

   Synonyms:

   earnings, wages, salary, return, gains, annuity, interest

   Antonyms:

   expenditure, outgo

3. something that comes in as an addition or increase, especially by chance.

4. Archaic. a coming in.

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income British  

/ ˈɪnkəm, ˈɪnkʌm /

noun

1. the amount of monetary or other returns, either earned or unearned, accruing over a given period of time

2. receipts; revenue

3. rare an inflow or influx

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income Cultural  

1. The amount of money received during a period of time in exchange for labor or services, from the sale of goods or property, or as a profit from financial investments.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• incomeless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• incomes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of income

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English: literally, “that which has come in,” noun use of incomen (past participle of incomen “to come in”), Old English incuman; see in, come

Explanation

What could be simpler than to remember that income basically refers to money that "comes in," or is earned. Your income is the money you make in a given time period, for example weekly, monthly, or annually. Your income might come from many sources — salary, investments, interest or annuities. Today income is used as a noun, but the Old English word incuman was first a verb that meant "to come in," and referred to the money earned through one's labor or business dealings. The first income tax was attempted in Britain in 1404, but was so unpopular it was ended. In the United States, the Federal Income Tax became law in 1913, and, unfortunately, is still in effect.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

income incomes

Millions of American families are left needing to pay more and more to cover their bills, and with less disposable income.

From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026

Even for higher income earners, that's equivalent to a month's worth of groceries.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

If funded entirely through increases in water rates, an estimated 30.4 million households would spend more than 2.5% of their income on drinking water, according to the report.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

Focusing only on race, ethnicity or income risks missing the family dynamics that can shape a child’s trajectory almost as much or more than those other factors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

For years after graduate school, she wrote down poet under profession in questionnaires and income tax forms, and later amended it to writer-slash-teacher.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

The proposal targets individuals with modified adjusted gross incomes of more than $400,000, and would cap contributions to traditional or Roth retirement plans if they have more than $10 million in tax-sheltered retirement accounts.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

According to the 2020 census, more than nine million black people earn incomes above the white median.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Ashok Prasad Kushwaha, an auto-rickshaw driver in Delhi who has visited the Ram temple three times in two years, said donations are acts of faith made even by people with modest incomes.

From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026

Much of the county's focus has been on increasing access to air conditioning, as many heat deaths were among people with low incomes or experiencing homelessness.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

"His son will succeed to the Eyrie and all its incomes," Robert said brusquely.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

Related Words

• cash
• compensation
• earnings
• interest
• livelihood
• pay
• proceeds
• profit
• revenue
• royalty
• salary
• wage