interest
Americannoun
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interests
plural
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the feeling of a person whose attention, concern, or curiosity is particularly engaged by something.
She has a great interest in the poetry of Donne.
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something that concerns, involves, draws the attention of, or arouses the curiosity of a person.
His interests are philosophy and chess.
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power of exciting such concern, involvement, etc.; quality of being interesting.
political issues of great interest.
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a matter of primary interest.
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a business, cause, or the like in which a person has a share, concern, responsibility, etc.
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a share, right, or title in the ownership of property, in a commercial or financial undertaking, or the like.
He bought half an interest in the store.
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a participation in or concern for a cause, advantage, responsibility, etc.
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a number or group of persons, or a party, financially interested in the same business, industry, or enterprise.
the banking interest.
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interests, the group of persons or organizations having extensive financial or business power.
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the state of being affected by something in respect to advantage or detriment.
We need an arbiter who is without interest in the outcome.
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to have one's own interest in mind.
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regard for one's own advantage or profit; self-interest.
The partnership dissolved because of their conflicting interests.
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influence from personal importance or capability; power of influencing the action of others.
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Finance.
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a sum paid or charged for the use of money or for borrowing money.
If I won the lottery, I would invest the money, quit working and live off the interest.
-
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something added or thrown in above an exact equivalent.
Jones paid him back with a left hook and added a right uppercut for interest.
verb (used with object)
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interests,
present (3rd person singular)
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interested,
past participle, past
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interesting
present participle
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to engage or excite the attention or curiosity of.
Mystery stories interested him greatly.
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to concern (a person, nation, etc.) in something; involve.
The fight for peace interests all nations.
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to cause to take a personal concern or share; induce to participate.
to interest a person in an enterprise.
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to cause to be concerned; affect.
idioms
noun
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the sense of curiosity about or concern with something or someone
an interest in butterflies
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the power of stimulating such a sense
to have great interest
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the quality of such stimulation
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something in which one is interested; a hobby or pursuit
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(often plural) benefit; advantage
in one's own interest
-
(often plural)
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a right, share, or claim, esp in a business or property
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the business, property, etc, in which a person has such concern
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-
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a charge for the use of credit or borrowed money
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such a charge expressed as a percentage per time unit of the sum borrowed or used
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(often plural) a section of a community, etc, whose members have common aims
we must not offend the landed interest
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to make known one's connection, esp a prejudicial connection, with an affair
verb
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to arouse or excite the curiosity or concern of
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to cause to become involved in something; concern
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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interestsimple
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interestssimple
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have interestedperfect
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has interestedperfect
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am interestingprogressive
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are interestingprogressive
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is interestingprogressive
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have been interestingperfect progressive
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has been interestingperfect progressive
Past
-
interestedsimple
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had interestedperfect
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was interestingprogressive
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were interestingprogressive
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had been interestingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of interest
First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English noun interest, intrest, entrest “legal claim or right,” from Medieval Latin, Latin interest “it concerns,” literally, “it is between,” replacing the Medieval Latin infinitive interesse, used as a noun, from Latin; see inter-, esse
Explanation
Interest is used most often to describe something you like, enjoy or think useful. You might have an interest in African literature, or you might follow the news with interest. Although interest is used mainly to describe anything that is, well, interesting, it also is used in specific legal contexts. If you have an interest in a company, it means you own part of it. Interest is also the word used to describe money charged or given as part of a debt. If a bank loans you $10,000, you have to pay back the $10,000 plus the interest. If the interest rate is 5 percent annually, you would owe $500.
Vocabulary lists containing interest
Ratios and Proportional Relationships
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Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - Introductory
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Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - High School
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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.
See Examples For:
Among those whose interest it caught was the musician David Byrne.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Only one former trader in the world now remains convicted: former Barclays trader Peter Johnson, who was also one of the original whistleblowers in the interest rate rigging scandal.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
You could leave each of her children $108,000, which is more than generous, and reimburses them for the money your aunt gave you out, with interest, assuming that the down payment reduced their inheritance.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
"Anxiety around undisclosed AI use has increased in recent months -- we have been getting a lot more interest from people all over the world."
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Even in her frail condition, Miss Swanburne took a special interest in you.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Consequently, and in the interests of wider public interest and safety, I've come to the conclusion that the circumstances under which that decision was made have now changed considerably.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
"I believe we were fired for prioritizing safety over the near-term interests of OpenAI as a corporation," Balesni wrote on X.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
National interests did not vanish in the face of international institutions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Some kids truly have the resources to explore any of their interests, and to continue practicing them.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
“Are you asking if you, a teenaged girl, are allowed to think two boys are potentially good romantic interests? Yes. Though I suppose I should ask: You haven’t married either of them, have you?”
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
Just today, there was a band — I won’t say who it was — but I was interested in hearing their new thing, and I didn’t understand a word until the chorus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
An important place to start is to ask why an investor is interested in bonds in the first place.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
“They were interested in Sinatra, but not the other albums I had,” she said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
For her, someone's current salary isn't necessarily particularly useful information anyway as she says she's much more interested in "whether someone is ambitious and driven than what they earn monetarily".
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
She seems most interested in what we’re not allowed to do.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
To say that there’s an interesting ethical conflict at work in “Animals”—an imprecise title—is not to say that the performances aren’t phoned in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
“We can’t just keep pushing out everything interesting or new, or nothing will ever be interesting or new.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
"Hannah seemed different, as if something new has happened to her. I definitely clocked a nervousness in her, which is very interesting."
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Not mincing words, Cohn told him that “there’s some interesting things here, but there’s no excitement.”
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026
Mr. Grayson’s hands, with long fingers and interesting rings.
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold
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.
