investment

[in-vest-muh nt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR investment ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

a particular instance or mode of investing.

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

something that is invested; sum invested.

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

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.

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

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

investiture with an office, dignity, or right.

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

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

Archaic. a garment or vestment.

Origin of investment

1590–1600 for def 12; 1605–15 for def 1; invest + -ment

Related formsnon·re·in·vest·ment, nouno·ver·in·vest·ment, nounpre·in·vest·ment, nounpro·in·vest·ment, adjectivere·in·vest·ment, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for investment

purchase, financing, transaction, finance, grant, money, loan, stake, property, expenditure, asset, venture, contribution, expense, advance, plunge, hunch, bail, inside, backing

Examples from the Web for investment

Contemporary Examples of investment

Cuba, already corrupt, will have to avoid becoming even more so when American investment pours in.
Cuba Is A Kleptocracy, Not Communist
Romina Ruiz-Goiriena
December 19, 2014
We knew it would be an expensive endeavor, and we still chose to make the investment.
How Much Money Does a Band Really Make on Tour?
Jack Conte
December 8, 2014
Which is bad, because we all have an investment in making college affordable and accessible to everyone.
The Student Loan Crisis That Isn’t About Kids at Harvard
Monica Potts
November 30, 2014
Healey may not have won on Tuesday, but the return on his investment was a national standout.
How to Run a Statewide Campaign on $38
Michael Ames
November 12, 2014
And the insane cost of keeping so many nonviolent people locked up is an investment in failure.
Here’s a Reform Even the Koch Brothers and George Soros Can Agree On
Tina Brown
November 10, 2014

Historical Examples of investment

I am, in other words, an investment from which they expect large returns.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
As an investment, these possessions were extremely unremunerative.
The Market-Place
Harold Frederic
Mark Twain made his first investment in Redding that spring.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete
Albert Bigelow Paine
Perhaps,” she rejoined, laughing, “but I should not care to make such an investment.
The Crimson Tide
Robert W. Chambers
Please say to him that a client wishes to speak to him regarding an investment.
The Crimson Tide
Robert W. Chambers

British Dictionary definitions for investment

investment

noun

the act of investing money
the amount invested
an enterprise, asset, etc, in which money is or can be invested

the act of investing effort, resources, etc
the amount invested

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

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

a less common word for investiture (def. 1)

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

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

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

Word Origin and History for investment

1590s, "act of putting on vestments" (a sense now found in investiture); later "act of being invested with an office, right, endowment, etc." (1640s); and "surrounding and besieging of a military target" (1811); see invest + -ment. Commercial sense is from 1610s, originally of the finances of the East India Company; general use is from 1740 in the sense of "conversion of money to property in hopes of profit," and by 1837 in the sense "amount of money so invested; property viewed as a vehicle for profit." For evolution of commercial senses, see invest.

investment in Culture

investment

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