investment

American  

[in-vest-muhnt] / ɪnˈvɛst mənt /

noun

investments plural

1. the investing of money or capital in order to gain profitable returns, as interest, income, or appreciation in value.

2. a particular instance or mode of investing.

3. a thing invested in, as a business, a quantity of shares of stock, etc.

4. something that is invested; sum invested.

5. the act or fact of investing or state of being invested, as with a garment.

6. a devoting, using, or giving of time, talent, emotional energy, etc., as for a purpose or to achieve something.

   His investment in the project included more time than he cared to remember.

7. Biology. any covering, coating, outer layer, or integument, as of an animal or vegetable.

8. the act of investing with a quality, attribute, etc.

9. investiture with an office, dignity, or right.

10. a siege or blockade; the surrounding of a place with military forces or works, as in besieging.

11. Also called investment compound.  Metallurgy. a refractory material applied in a plastic state to a pattern to make a mold.

12. Archaic. a garment or vestment.

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investment British  

/ ɪnˈvɛstmənt /

noun

1. 1. the act of investing money

   2. the amount invested

   3. an enterprise, asset, etc, in which money is or can be invested

2. 1. the act of investing effort, resources, etc

   2. the amount invested

3. economics the amount by which the stock of capital (plant, machinery, materials, etc) in an enterprise or economy changes

4. biology the outer layer or covering of an organ, part, or organism

5. a less common word for investiture

6. the act of investing or state of being invested, as with an official robe, a specific quality, etc

7. rare the act of besieging with military forces, works, etc

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investment Cultural  

1. The purchase of property with the expectation that its value will increase over time.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonreinvestment
  noun
• overinvestment
  noun
• preinvestment
  noun
• reinvestment
  noun
• proinvestment
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• investments
  plural

Etymology

Origin of investment

First recorded in 1590–1600 investment for def. 12; 1605–15 investment for def. 1; invest + -ment

Explanation

You are making an investment when you put money into a business with the hopes that the business will grow and bring you a profit. Many consider a college education to be one of the best investments you can make. Besides money, you can put time, effort or emotional support into something and also call it an investment. Volunteering in an organization requires an investment of time and energy. You may hear someone say, "We must make an investment in the future of our children," when he or she is pleading for fiscal responsibility, education, environmental protection or some other cause that will affect the success of future generations.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

investment investments

According to the New York-headquartered investment bank, flows from the Gulf have fallen to below 45% of pre-war levels.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026

Attempts by Western companies to manufacture weapons in Ukraine have proven difficult amid safety fears, lack of investment and concerns over the loss of intellectual property.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

The company’s investment in AI comes as Netflix is facing uncertainty.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

The aggressive investment products are tailored to pay out twice the profits of a single stock but also twice the losses, and have been criticised for exposing retail investors to market hype and volatility.

From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026

But as he spoke a Wall Street investment bank was failing, for a reason other than fraud.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

The LSE 24 platform will provide access to agentic AI systems to manage investments.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026

"Big Tech earnings now need to prove that AI revenues, margins and cash flow can justify the scale" of the huge investments in AI infrastructure, Innes said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026

As governments and companies pour hundreds of billions of dollars into developing AI, sceptics are asking whether the technology will be profitable enough to justify such huge investments.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

Utilities can, and should, plan for these resources as integrated community power networks that improve reliability while helping avoid or defer costly infrastructure investments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Brainy committees are continually evaluating the effectiveness and cost of doing various things in space, defense, energy, transportation, and the like, to give advice about prudent investments for the future.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

Related Words

• asset
• contribution
• expenditure
• expense
• finance
• financing
• grant
• loan
• money
• property
• purchase
• stake
• transaction
• venture