The price paid for borrowing money. It is expressed as a percentage rate over a period of time and reflects the rate of exchange of present consumption for future consumption. Also, a share or title in property. The New York Times Financial Glossary
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interest in‧terest [ˈɪntrst] noun
1. [uncountable] FINANCE an amount paid by a borrower to a lender, for example to a bank by someone borrowing money for a loan or by a bank to a
depositor (= someone keeping money in an account there ) :
• Any spare cash is best put in a savings account where it will earn interest.
• US savings bonds will pay interest at 7.01% from May 1 through Oct. 31.
interest on
• a period during which you only pay interest on the loan and make no capital repayments
• Some credit cards don't charge interest on unpaid balances.
acˌcrued ˈinterest [uncountable] FINANCE
interest earned during a period of time, whether it has been paid and received or not:
• After five years the original loan has to be paid in full, plus all the accrued interest.
ˌadd-on ˈinterest [uncountable] FINANCE
interest calculated only on the
principal (= the original amount borrowed) of a loan
— compare APR
ˈbank ˌinterest [uncountable] FINANCE
interest paid by a bank on
deposit S and to a bank on loans:
• You must declare bank interest you receive to the tax authorities.
ˈbond ˌinterest [uncountable] FINANCE
interest payable or paid to lenders on bonds:
• Mr Trump's Taj Mahal Casino might have trouble paying its junk bond interest.
ˈbuilding soˌciety ˌinterest [uncountable] FINANCE
• Building society interest is taxed under a special arrangement, and basic-rate tax does not have to be paid on it.
ˌcompound ˈinterest [uncountable] FINANCE
interest calculated on both a sum of money lent and on the unpaid interest already earned or charged on that money
— compare simple interest
deˈbenture ˌinterest [uncountable] FINANCE
interest payable or paid to lenders on
debenture S (= a type of bond):
• The company also said it can't pay debenture interest of $5.3 million due this month.
ˌgross ˈinterest [uncountable] TAX
interest before tax is taken away:
• Only non-taxpayers should be registered for gross interest.
imˌputed ˈinterest [uncountable] FINANCE
interest on a loan which is based on the difference between the market rates of interest, and the actual interest paid on the loan:
• Investors don't have to pay tax on imputed interest every year.
ˌnet ˈinterest
1. [uncountable] TAX interest from a bank account or an investment after tax is taken away:
• This cheque account pays net interest of 3.25%.
2. [uncountable] FINANCE the difference between interest that a person or organization receives from investments and interest that they pay for borrowing:
• The bank's net interest income increased by 19% last year.
ˌsimple ˈinterest [uncountable] FINANCE
interest calculated only on the
principal (= the original amount invested), not on any accrued interest:
• I charged him 5% simple interest on the principal per week.
ˌtrue ˈinterest [uncountable] FINANCE
the interest that a particular sum of money would earn at a particular rate of interest to bring it to a known sum at the end of a particular period of time:
• The true interest cost on the Series A bonds is 6.262%.
2. [countable] FINANCE shares that you own in a company, or a part of a company that a person or organization owns;
= HOLDING; STAKE:
true interest in
• Highlands Gold Ltd holds a 30% interest in the mine.
• He acquired interests in a number of publishing companies.
conˌtrolling ˈinterest [countable] FINANCE
enough shares to control a company:
• He bought a controlling interest in the firm.
maˌjority ˈinterest [countable] FINANCE
more than half of a company's shares, or enough shares to control the company:
• Roche acquired a majority interest in Genetech.
miˌnority ˈinterest [countable] FINANCE
less than half of a company's shares, or fewer shares than the biggest shareholder:
• Later in the year, AT&T sold a minority interest to other carefully selected companies.
ˌworking ˈinterest [countable] FINANCE
an interest held by a company in a particular activity, especially the oil industry:
• Amoco, an energy concern, is the operator of the project with a 43.75% working interest.
3. vested interest disapproving a group of people with strong reasons for wanting something to happen because they will gain an advantage from it:
• He is determined to prevent powerful vested interests from blocking the reform.
4. [countable] LAW the possession of rights, especially to land, property etc:
• The husband can release his interest in the legal estate to his wife.
ˌbeneficial ˈinterest \I've changed the def and moved this from sense 1. [uncountable] LAW FINANCE
the right to benefit from some property or a contract:
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interest UK US /ˈɪntrəst/ noun
► [
U]
FINANCE interest charges/payments »
Interest charges on an overdraft are usually quite high.
charge/pay interest »
A number of providers don't charge any interest for an introductory period when you get one of their cards.
interest on sth »
The interest on a mortgage is higher than the interest earned on savings.
»
You can expect to pay interest of 4–6% on the loan.
with interest »
I paid back the whole sum with interest within a month.
»
monthly/annual interest
► [
U]
FINANCE earn/receive/pay interest »
You will earn interest at 4% as long as you have money in your account.
»
Consumers look for the best rate of interest on their savings.
»
You will receive interest payments on your investments monthly.
»
The account pays interest of up to 5%.
»
monthly/annual interest
► [
C] »
He is a multi-millionaire with business interests around the world.
an interest in sth »
The bank has a legal interest in the building until the money is repaid, as it was offered as security on the loan.
► [
S or
U]
show interest (in sth) »
Customers are showing a lot of interest in this new design.
lose interest (in sth) »
Keep your points short and snappy when you make your presentation, or the audience might lose interest.
take an interest (in sth) »
Since our company featured in a national newspaper, people are starting to take an interest in what we do.
have an interest in sth »
I've always had an interest in aviation.
»
Just out of interest, how many people were at the conference?
► [
C] »
She lists her interests as music, running, and learning languages.
► [
U]
be of interest to sb »
I think this report would be of interest to you.
► [
C or
U] »
A union looks after the interests of its members.
»
It's in your interests to keep careful records.
»
In the interests of safety, please do not smoke.
»
I believe it is in everyone's best interests if I resign.
→
See also ACCRUED INTEREST(
Cf. ↑
accrued interest),
ADD-ON INTEREST(
Cf. ↑
add-on interest),
BANK INTEREST(
Cf. ↑
bank interest),
BENEFICIAL INTEREST(
Cf. ↑
beneficial interest),
COMPOUND INTEREST(
Cf. ↑
compound interest),
CONFLICT OF INTEREST(
Cf. ↑
conflict of interest),
CONTROLLING INTEREST(
Cf. ↑
controlling interest),
EX-INTEREST(
Cf. ↑
ex-interest),
EXPRESSION OF INTEREST(
Cf. ↑
expression of interest),
GROSS INTEREST(
Cf. ↑
gross interest),
IMPUTED INTEREST(
Cf. ↑
imputed interest),
MAJORITY INTEREST(
Cf. ↑
majority interest),
MINORITY INTEREST(
Cf. ↑
minority interest),
NET INTEREST(
Cf. ↑
net interest),
SIMPLE INTEREST(
Cf. ↑
simple interest),
TRUE INTEREST COST(
Cf. ↑
true interest cost),
WORKING INTEREST(
Cf. ↑
working interest),
VESTED INTEREST(
Cf. ↑
vested interest),
ZERO INTEREST(
Cf. ↑
zero interest)