revenue

American  

[rev-uhn-yoo, -uh-noo] / ˈrɛv ənˌju, -əˌnu /

noun

revenues plural

1. the income of a government from taxation, excise duties, customs, or other sources, appropriated to the payment of the public expenses.

2. the government department charged with the collection of such income.

3. revenues, the collective items or amounts of income of a person, a state, etc.

4. the return or yield from any kind of property, patent, service, etc.; income.

5. an amount of money regularly coming in.

6. a particular item or source of income.

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revenue British  

/ ˈrɛvɪˌnjuː /

noun

1. the income accruing from taxation to a government during a specified period of time, usually a year

2. 1. a government department responsible for the collection of government revenue

   2. ( as modifier )

      revenue men

3. the gross income from a business enterprise, investment, property, etc

4. a particular item of income

5. something that yields a regular financial return; source of income

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revenue Cultural  

1. The income of local, state, or national governments.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonrevenue
  adjective
• revenual
  adjective
• revenued
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• revenues
  plural

Etymology

Origin of revenue

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Middle French, noun use of feminine past participle of revenir “to return,” from Latin revenīre, equivalent to re- re- + venīre “to come ”

Explanation

Revenue is money earned by a business, or income received by the government from taxes. The government is always interested in dreaming up new sources of revenue, and so is the average head of a company unless she doesn't want to be the head anymore. Revenue is from a French word meaning "to return or come back," and dollar returns are always a welcome thing. Declining advertising revenue will doom your website, no matter how great it is. If your lemonade stand is not making a profit, you might consider lowering costs. Maybe you could get cheaper lemonade mix? Or you might look for more creative and exciting ways to increase revenue––like raiding the pantry for cookies you can sell as well.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

revenue revenues

Over the next decade, she hopes half of the company’s revenue will come from outside China.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

Investors might see impressive investment-banking revenue numbers this earnings season with such high levels of merger and acquisition activity, as well as initial public offerings.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 2026

Once studios couldn’t count on a second bump of revenue beyond the box office, they began selecting safer films based on pre-existing properties that were guaranteed to get people into movie theaters.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

That raises the question of whether or not the investment banks will reach cyclical revenue peaks this year.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 2026

Since Microbiological Associates was privately owned and sold many other biological products, there’s no way to know how much of its revenue came specifically from HeLa.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

Damon told the Times of London that shrinking revenues in Hollywood make it extremely unlikely for a studio to put up the money needed to film these massive movies.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

"Package holidays generate higher margins and more predictable revenues than airline tickets alone, and Apollo is likely to believe there's plenty more value to unlock by expanding the business," she added.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

Micron’s increased focus on long-term agreements and strategic customer agreements is likely to bring increased visibility and durability to revenues, Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani wrote in a Wednesday note.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

The measure says revenues cannot be spent on state bureaucracy or administrative costs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026

From 1997 to 2002, revenues from hair, nail, and skin care services jumped by 42 percent nationwide, Census Bureau data show.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

Related Words

• credit
• dividend
• earnings
• fund
• gain
• interest
• pay
• proceeds
• receipt
• return
• salary
• stock
• wealth
• yield