incentive

American  

[in-sen-tiv] / ɪnˈsɛn tɪv /

noun

• incentives
  plural

1. something that incites or tends to incite to action or greater effort, as a reward offered for increased productivity.

   Synonyms:

   prod, goad, encouragement, impulse, incitement, spur, stimulus

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adjective

1. inciting, as to action; stimulating; provocative.

incentive British  

/ ɪnˈsɛntɪv /

noun

1. a motivating influence; stimulus

2. 1. an additional payment made to employees as a means of increasing production

   2. ( as modifier )

      an incentive scheme

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adjective

1. serving to incite to action

Synonym Usage

See motive.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• counterincentive
  noun
• preincentive
  noun
• superincentive
  noun
• nonincentive
  adjective
• incentively
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• incentives
  plural

Etymology

Origin of incentive

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Late Latin incentīvus “provocative,” in Latin: “setting the tune,” from incent(us) “played” (past participle of incinere “to play (an instrument, tunes),” from in- in- ² + -cinere, combining form of canere “to sing”) + -īvus -ive

Explanation

If your mom wants you to mow the lawn but you don't feel like it, she might offer to treat you to ice cream after as an incentive. An incentive is something that stimulates you to take action or work harder. This noun dates back to Middle English, from Late Latin incentivum, from incentivus, "stimulating." In Latin, incentivus meant "setting the tune," from incinere, "to sing." The related English verb is incentivize. The less common verb incent was first used in the early 1980s, and has been criticized as business jargon.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

incentive incentives

Whether you’re a young politician looking to avoid alienating your peers, or a senior representative not looking to upset the apple cart, there’s little incentive to squabble over the way things have always been done.

From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026

A bill, known as AB 2319 and aimed at supporting the industry’s editors, sound mixers, composers and visual effects artists, passed the Senate on Sunday, marking the state’s first-ever stand-alone postproduction tax incentive.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

When bond prices fall, yields rise — giving investors more incentive to own U.S. government debt, typically considered one of the safest investments in the world from a default perspective.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026

Facing uncertain demand, industry has little incentive to invest in plant, tooling, suppliers or workers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

He would have no incentive to be kind.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

Many eateries are offering incentives to get diners through the doors.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

Tiffany now wants the state's tax incentives scrapped and the industry more tightly regulated, though he stops short of a ban.

From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026

Some employers are likewise using breaks for gameplay as incentives to motivate workers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

The state offered SpaceX a “competitive incentives package on the condition of capital investment, job creation” and a donation to a local charity.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

In later rounds, the strategic incentives are flipped.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

Related Words

• encouragement
• enticement
• impetus
• motivation
• reason
• stimulus