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

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Etymology

Origin of investment

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

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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

He added that the investment group also didn’t have the money to make the improvements they wanted for their vision of a private club with special privileges.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026

Japan has prioritized artificial intelligence infrastructure in a 15-year strategic investment plan.

From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026

Gerstner began to envision a program that would automatically enroll American children in an investment vehicle that let them take advantage of the stock market growth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

Traders making bullish bets on chip stocks are getting walloped this month, as renewed fears have emerged about investment returns on the buildout of artificial intelligence.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

Immie’s bank and investment accounts had a total of eight million dollars in them.

From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.23%, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.21% as investors moved toward less risky investments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

People do this to simplify their retirement portfolio, so all their investments are in one place, and also to access a broader range of investments in an IRA.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

But by 1914 he had moved on to other investments.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

“Thanks in large part to the agreement,” Wade said, “there is a surge in confidence about the future of Venezuela’s oil industry and, as a direct result, substantial new investments are flowing into the country.”

From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2026

As land values rose, landowners sought ways of improving the return on their investments.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

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Related Words

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

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