internal revenue

American

noun

the revenue of a government from any domestic source, usually considered to be any source other than customs.

internal revenue British

noun

government income derived from taxes, etc, within the country

"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

Etymology

Origin of internal revenue

An Americanism dating back to 1790–1800

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.

This chatter coincided roughly with articles appearing in the press reporting that OpenAI was struggling to hit internal revenue and user growth targets.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 10, 2026

The company remains the leader in the consumer chatbot market, but recently missed some internal revenue targets and watched rival Anthropic pull ahead among business customers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

All three of the chip companies fell Tuesday after The Wall Street Journal reported that ChatGPT-developer OpenAI had missed internal revenue and user targets, sparking worries about AI investment.

From Barron's • Apr. 29, 2026

While Snap said it was not providing formal financial guidance, its internal revenue forecast for the second quarter is $1.04 billion, which would be a 6% decline year-over-year.

From Reuters • Apr. 27, 2023

How many internal revenue districts are in your state?

From Government in the United States National, State and Local by Garner, James Wilford

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023