Standard Lemma guide

investment

noun · 11 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ɪnˈvɛstmənt/
  • /ɪnˈvɛsmənt/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 N V EH1 S T M AH0 N T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: IH2 N V EH1 S M AH0 N T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The act of investing, or state of being invested.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • Giving your children a good education is a wise long-term investment.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use or appreciation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: business, finance

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: divestment

3

noun

Meaning 3

A vestment.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, obsolete, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The act of surrounding, blocking up, or besieging by an armed force, or the state of being so surrounded.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: government, military, politics, war

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A mixture of silica sand and plaster which, by surrounding a wax pattern, creates a negative mold of the form used for casting, among other metals, bronze.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

the ceremonial act of clothing someone in the insignia of an office; the formal promotion of a person to an office or rank

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: investiture

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: promotion

7

noun

Meaning 7

the act of putting on robes or vestments

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: dressing, grooming

8

noun

Meaning 8

the act of investing; laying out money or capital in an enterprise with the expectation of profit

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: investing

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: finance

Narrower terms: arbitrage, foreign direct investment, leverage, leveraging

9

noun

Meaning 9

outer layer or covering of an organ or part or organism

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: skin, tegument, cutis

Narrower terms: pellicle

10

noun

Meaning 10

the commitment of something other than money (time, energy, or effort) to a project with the expectation of some worthwhile result

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • this job calls for the investment of some hard thinking
  • he made an emotional investment in the work

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: committedness, commitment

11

noun

Meaning 11

money that is invested with an expectation of profit

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: investment funds

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: assets

Narrower terms: speculation, venture

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English invest Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥tom Proto-Italic *-mentom Latin -mentum Old French -mentbor. Middle English -ment English -ment English investment From invest + -ment.

Across languages

Translations

127 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: инвести́ране (investírane) — act of investing
  • Catalan: inversió — act of investing
  • Chinese Mandarin: 投入 (tóurù) — act of investing
  • Chinese Mandarin: 投資 /投资 (tóuzī) — act of investing
  • Esperanto: investado — act of investing
  • Finnish: sijoittaminen — act of investing
  • Hindi: निवेश (niveś) — act of investing
  • Hindi: विनिधान (vinidhān) — act of investing
  • Māori: whakangaonga — act of investing
  • Māori: whakangaonga moni — act of investing
  • Portuguese: investimento — act of investing
  • Russian: инвести́рование (investírovanije) — act of investing
  • Spanish: inversión — act of investing
  • Afrikaans: belegging — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Albanian: investim — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Arabic: اِسْتِثْمَار (istiṯmār) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Armenian: ներդրում (nerdrum) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Azerbaijani: yatırım — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Azerbaijani: qoyuluş — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Azerbaijani: kapital qoyuluşu — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Azerbaijani: sərmaya qoyuluşu — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Azerbaijani: investisiya — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Belarusian: інвесты́цыя (invjestýcyja) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Belarusian: інвэсты́цыя (investýcyja) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Belarusian: уклада́нне (ukladánnje) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Belarusian: уклада́ньне (ukladánʹnje) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Bulgarian: инвести́ция (investícija) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Bulgarian: вложе́ние (vložénie) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Burmese: အရင်းအနှီး (a.rang:a.hni:) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Catalan: inversió — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Chinese Cantonese: 投資 /投资 (tau4 zi1) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Chinese: 投資 /投资 (tâu-chu) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Chinese Mandarin: 投資 /投资 (tóuzī) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Czech: investice — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Danish: investering — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Dutch: investering — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Dutch: belegging — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Esperanto: investado — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Estonian: investeering — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Finnish: sijoitus — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • French: investissement — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • French: placement — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Galician: investimento — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Georgian: შენატანი (šenaṭani) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Georgian: ინვესტიცია (invesṭicia) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • German: Investition — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • German: Anlage — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Greek: επένδυση (epéndysi) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Hebrew: הַשְׁקָעָה (hashka'á) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Hindi: निवेश (niveś) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Hindi: विनिधान (vinidhān) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Hungarian: befektetés — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Icelandic: fjárfesting — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Indonesian: investasi — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Irish: fuilleamh — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Italian: investimento — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Japanese: 投資 (tōshi) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Kazakh: инвестиция (investisiä) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Khmer: វិនិយោគ (viniyook) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Korean: 투자 (tuja) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Kyrgyz: инвестиция (investitsiya) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Kyrgyz: жатырым (jatırım) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Lao: ການລົງທຶນ (kān long thưn) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Latin: collocātiō — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Latvian: investīcija — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Lithuanian: investicija — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Macedonian: инвестиција (investicija) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Malay: pelaburan — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Malay: investasi — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Malay: laburan — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Māori: whakangaonga — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Māori: haumitanga — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Mongolian: хөрөнгө оруулалт (xöröngö oruulalt) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Mongolian: ᠬᠥᠷᠦᠩᠭᠡ ᠣᠷᠤᠭᠤᠯᠤᠯᠲᠠ (körüngge oruɣululta) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Norwegian Bokmål: investering — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: investering — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Pashto: پانګونه (pāngawǝna) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Iranian Persian: سَرْمایِهگُذاری (sarmâye-gozâri) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Polish: inwestycja — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Portuguese: investimento — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Portuguese: investimentos — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Portuguese: aposta — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Romanian: investiție — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Russian: инвести́ция (investícija) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Russian: вклад (vklad) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Russian: вложе́ние (vložénije) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Russian: капиталовложе́ние (kapitalovložénije) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Serbo-Croatian: инвести́ција — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Serbo-Croatian: улагање — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Serbo-Croatian: пла̀сма̄н — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Serbo-Croatian: investícija — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Serbo-Croatian: ulaganje — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Serbo-Croatian: plàsmān — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Slovak: investícia — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Slovene: vlaganje — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Slovene: investicija — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Spanish: inversión — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Spanish: insumo — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Swahili: uwekezaji — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Swedish: investering — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Tagalog: pamumuhunan — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Tajik: сармоягузорӣ (sarmoyaguzori) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Tajik: пулгузорӣ (pulguzori) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Tajik: инвеститсия (investitsiya) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Tatar: инвестиция (inwestitsiyä) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Telugu: పెట్టుబడి (peṭṭubaḍi) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Thai: การลงทุน (gaan-long-tun) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Turkish: yatırım — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Turkish: envestisman — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Turkish: plasman — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Turkmen: inwestisiýa — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Ukrainian: інвести́ція (investýcija) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Ukrainian: вне́сок (vnésok) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Ukrainian: капіталовкла́дення (kapitalovkládennja) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Urdu: سَرْمایَہ کاری (sarmāya kārī) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Uyghur: مەبلەغ (meblegh) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Uyghur: مەبلەغ سېلىش (meblegh sëlish) — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Uzbek: investitsiya — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Uzbek: sarmoya kiritish — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Vietnamese: sự đầu tư — placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use
  • Bulgarian: обса́да (obsáda) — act of surrounding
  • Chinese Mandarin: 包圍 /包围 (bāowéi) — act of surrounding
  • Chinese Mandarin: 封鎖 /封锁 (fēngsuǒ) — act of surrounding
  • Finnish: piiritys — act of surrounding
  • Spanish: cerco — act of surrounding
  • Chinese Mandarin: 熔模 (róngmó) — mixture of silica sand and plaster
  • Finnish: keerna — mixture of silica sand and plaster
Real reading context

investment in complete knowledge articles