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Synonyms

income

American  
[in-kuhm] / ˈɪn kʌm /

noun

  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.

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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.

Other Word Forms

  • incomeless adjective

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; in, come

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.

Chauhan hopes to pay off his mortgage by the time his child is 18 years old and be able to pay for college with his income at that point.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026

A platform like Tubi, they said, isn’t only open to partnering with AI-assisted filmmakers and other creators, but aims to help them earn an income.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

Meanwhile, families that rely on a single income, or whose jobs are not stable, would be safer having enough savings to cover six to 12 months of expenses.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026

She said that could be addressed with a 1p rise in income tax if that was needed.

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

Her family depended on her artist’s income, yet her passion led her right back to her boxes of caterpillars.

From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman

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.