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

One of its main sources of revenue now is from the Australian immigration detention centre it has housed for much of this century.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

Firstly, the 43-year-old company has shifted in favor of offering free entry to many users, which Wood warned effectively brought recurring revenue growth down by about $500 million in its second quarter.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026

Even so, Koontz is more bullish about the company’s revenue potential in near-packaged optics designs, which have lower development risk but “a large portion of the advantages of” co-packaged optics.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026

Cracker Barrel said it expects to meet or exceed the high end of its full-year revenue outlook as a result of the strategic actions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 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

Revenue growth was driven by higher franchise royalties and advertising revenues, as well as an increase in order volumes and food basket pricing to stores, the company said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

CBS News, historically cautious about any endeavors that could tarnish its legacy as a journalism organization, was the last of the traditional networks to get into e-commerce in 2022 after COVID-19 lockdowns depressed ad revenues.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026

Although Russia's oil and gas sector, which accounts for about a quarter of state revenues, has benefited from a recent rise in oil prices following the Iran war, the broader economy is slowing.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

At member-state level, Brussels will push countries to channel revenues from the ETS into decarbonising industry -- an area where performance varies widely.

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

In just seven years, the company’s revenues rose from $115,000 to more than $8 million.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

Related Words

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