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investment

American  
[in-vest-muhnt] / ɪnˈvɛst mənt /

noun

  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.

investment British  
/ ɪnˈvɛstmənt /

noun

    1. the act of investing money

    2. the amount invested

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

    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

"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
investment Cultural  

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

Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of investment

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

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.

Business investment is poised to keep rising in the immediate future and to help keep the economy from stalling, although the Iran war could bring a temporary dip.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026

“It’s hard to give the boosters a return on investment like they enjoy,” Kyle Church, Michigan’s general manager, said after maize-and-blue confetti fell from the rafters of Lucas Oil Stadium late Monday night.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

US investment company Pershing Square is offering to buy Universal in a merger that would see the new company listed in America, its billionaire chief executive Bill Ackman said.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

“The total cost was around $125,000, including permits, construction and all systems — a significant investment, but one that ended up serving our family in unexpected ways.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

Gotham was founded by a value investment guru named Joel Greenblatt.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

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.