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
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funds or the provision of funds
-
(plural) funds; financial condition
verb
-
(tr) to provide or obtain funds, capital, or credit for
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(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)
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underfinanceverb (used with object)
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financeableadjective
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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:
That choice in finance terms is known as regulatory arbitrage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
“The budgetary items that are really driving the deficit over the next 10 years and the next 30 years and the long term are Social Security and Medicare,” said Stanford University finance professor Joshua Rauh.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
The Treasury and the DfE did not say whether ministers would unfreeze the threshold in their response, but said: "We keep all aspects of the student finance system under review."
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
Police officials said the money came from parliamentary funds available to lawmakers to finance special projects, usually in their electoral strongholds.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
While my older siblings continue whispering about banks and loans and finance things I don’t understand, I’m stuck on the idea of the FBI invading our house.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Seven retirees open up about their finances and how they spend their time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Thousands of households who rely on heating oil could face a fresh squeeze on their finances this winter as global tensions continue to push up fuel prices, a councillor has warned.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
But the government's vision for a Silicon Valley-like high-tech hub in Hong Kong comes at a huge cost to the city's wildlife, local communities and public finances, environmental and social groups warned.
From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026
The inaugural LA Jazz Festival on Dockweiler Beach was canceled on what would have been its opening day, after its finances and permitting fell through.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
The women involved may have wanted to support temperance and other reform movements, but ultimately men controlled the finances.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
Kremlev is the head of the International Boxing Association, a scandal-plagued sports group that has been financed by the Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
A bilateral investment committee then reviews the projects, which would be financed by South Korean state funds, and makes recommendations to Trump.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Yes, because they have withstood the loss of huge names to a breakaway tour that has been financed to the tune of $5bn and that tour has now filed for bankruptcy protection.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
The project, now estimated to cost roughly $400 million, is supposedly being financed through private donations rather than a congressional appropriation.
From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026
Once he had financed Gay to go for turtles.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
Those companies are particularly vulnerable when financing costs rise because many depend on debt and equity markets to fund growth.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
Under the Airbnb Housing Accelerator program, the company will distribute the $250 million to developers to help them bridge gaps in financing multifamily housing projects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
It has cited a host of governance issues and the group’s refusal to “transparently explain the sources of its financing or to explain its full financial dependency, at the time, on a single state-owned company.”
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
Instead of funding a building program, the VA issued 99-year leases to a series of developers that relied on the tax-credit financing commonly used to build low-income housing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
If the right people knew of the project’s success, Hiatt added, PIH might be able to secure new financing for its work.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
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.
