finance
Americannoun
-
the management of revenues; the conduct or transaction of money matters generally, especially those affecting the public, as in the fields of banking and investment.
-
finances, the monetary resources, as of a government, company, organization, or individual; revenue.
verb (used with object)
-
finances,
present (3rd person singular)
-
financed,
past participle, past
-
financing
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
finances,
present (3rd person singular)
-
financed,
past participle, past
-
financing
present participle
noun
-
the system of money, credit, etc, esp with respect to government revenues and expenditures
-
funds or the provision of funds
-
(plural) funds; financial condition
verb
-
(tr) to provide or obtain funds, capital, or credit for
-
(intr) to manage or secure financial resources
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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superfinancenoun
-
prefinanceverb (used with object)
-
self-financeverb (used with object)
-
underfinanceverb (used with object)
-
financeableadjective
-
unfinancedadjective
-
well-financedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
financesimple
-
financessimple
-
have financedperfect
-
has financedperfect
-
am financingprogressive
-
are financingprogressive
-
is financingprogressive
-
have been financingperfect progressive
-
has been financingperfect progressive
Past
-
financedsimple
-
had financedperfect
-
was financingprogressive
-
were financingprogressive
-
had been financingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of finance
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English finaunce, from Anglo-French, Middle French finance, from fin(er) “to end, settle, pay” ( see fine 2) + -ance -ance
Explanation
To finance something is to pay for it, like using the money you earn at your part-time job to finance your cell phone bill. As a verb, it carries two very different meanings: "to pay for" or "obtain on credit." So, if you can finance your trip, it means you have the money to pay for it. Anyone who works in finance, meaning the banking and investment industry, will tell you plenty of people get in trouble by letting credit cards finance things like vacations.
Vocabulary lists containing finance
"Women in Aviation," Vocabulary from the informational text
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Richard Nixon's "Checkers" Speech (1952)
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Economics
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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.
See Examples For:
Charter Amendment SC aims to clarify campaign finance rules for candidates running for a seat on the L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026
“I had a great meal, always have a great meal, and I would just tell the Martha’s Vineyard set to give it a try,” the finance tycoon told the press outside the restaurant.
From Slate ● Oct. 31, 2026
On Thursday, Intel's finance chief David Zinsner said the firm did not expect to bring in more cash than it spent this year, and forecast lower-than-expected revenue for its fourth quarter.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
The catch is that effective finance costs can reach 2,000%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
They signed a loyalty oath to get their pay from the finance officer, to obtain their PX supplies, to have their hair cut by the Italian barbers.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck discuss what the S-1 filing revealed about their finances and what this IPO means for Anthropic’s place in the A.I. race.
From Slate ● Oct. 31, 2026
However, Borges noted that, as the person in charge of the school’s finances, Segura was responsible for approving the invoices submitted by Bumper.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
If your father hasn’t made arrangements for someone trustworthy to help manage his finances and make decisions about his care if he becomes unable to do so, now is the time to seek legal advice.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
The International Monetary Fund earlier in October downgraded its expectations for French growth this year to 0.4%, down from 0.9% in April, and warned that the country needed to get its public finances in order.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
“Are you seeing a banker about your finances, Aunt Kitty?”
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
As more of the build-out is financed with debt, higher rates reach it through credit markets, hitting the weakest borrowers first and the cash-rich giants last.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
The film was financed by A24, which gave Fielder and Oppenheim unusual freedom to pursue the project without any deadline or obligation to turn what they captured into a finished film.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
"Investors will reward growth and monetisation, yet they're also becoming more sensitive to how the next leg of investment is financed and what it means for existing shareholders."
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
Medicaid programs financed by state and federal taxpayers paid $10 billion for autism therapy last year, up from around $2 billion in 2021, driven in part by increasing treatment hours per patient.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
So the session was almost over when Holly Blackwell tilted her coif and turned her baby-blues on the deputy superintendent and asked him how the trip to Albany would be financed.
From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg
“I’m going to go to a potential lender and say, ‘Hey, if I buy this structure and I get this form of insurance, can you now give me financing?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
Jauregui said his company had a conventional line of credit but couldn’t get additional bank financing when he took the first MCA in the fall of 2023.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
The government has sought emergency financing, including through the sale of gold reserves, to pay suppliers.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
This is a highly complicated measure that involves jail financing and seeks to clean up some bureaucratic muddles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
“Will you be wanting financing? Would you like to talk with our finance manager?”
From "Ruby Holler" by Sharon Creech
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
