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

Karbasfrooshan is optimistic he has generated enough interest to pull all that capital together, but he spoke this week with a sports investment banker in the hope of “turning that interest into commitments.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

“It’s rare to have a single rate hike and then nothing going forward,” said Chris Brigati, chief investment officer at SWBC.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Investors often make investment decisions on inflation expectations and the price of oil is a major factor in prices rising across the world, given the commodity's widespread use and humanity's dependence on it.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

As Buffett himself pointed out repeatedly, the bigger Berkshire Hathaway got, the harder it was for him to find market-beating investment picks big enough to move the needle.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

Before Swift’s investment in this groundbreaking innovation, there was no way to keep meat fresh long enough to transport it long distances.

From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield

The entire market has become so expensive, by so many measures, that one-way bets, the investments Buffett liked to call “fat pitches,” are hard to find.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

"The group currently faces large financial commitments from recently formed subsidiary companies, including Air India, investments in long gestation projects, and losses in newer ventures," Soonawala wrote, external in a piece for Times of India.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Shares slumped after the industrial services provider lowered its outlook for the year and said it would cut up to 1,500 jobs, with postponed customer investments expected to weigh on results.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

The owners allegedly underreported how much they paid their employees by more than $100,000 each year and funneled profits through mortgage payments and investments.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

“And that’s when the investments grew to about fifty thousand dollars plus the eight I’d made from the lawns.”

From "Lawn Boy Returns" by Gary Paulsen

Related Words

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