What does "interest" mean?
The price paid for obtaining, or price received for providing, money or goods in a credit transaction, calculated as a fraction of the amount or value of what was borrowed.
Interest
/ˈɪn.tɹɛst/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Top 500 ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The price paid for obtaining, or price received for providing, money or goods in a credit transaction, calculated as a fraction of the amount or value of what was borrowed.
- Grammar: interest is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: stake, absolute interest, absorb, absorption.
- Useful contrasts: academic boredom, blase, deep disgust.
- Usage evidence: David has a keen interest in aesthetics — the qualities that make a painting, sculpture, musical composition, or poem pleasing to the eye, ear, or mind.
How to use "interest"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "interest" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "interest" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "interest" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "interest" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "interest" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "stake" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "interest", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The price paid for obtaining, or price received for providing, money or goods in a credit transaction, calculated as a fraction of the amount or value of what was borrowed. uncountable, usually
"Our bank offers borrowers an annual interest of 5%."
- 2 a diversion that occupies one's time and thoughts (usually pleasantly) wordnet
- 3 Any excess over and above an exact equivalent uncountable, usually
"You shall have your desires with interest"
- 4 a reason for wanting something done wordnet
- 5 A great attention and concern from someone or something; intellectual curiosity. uncountable, usually
"He has a lot of interest in vintage cars."
Show 12 more definitions
- 6 the power of attracting or holding one's attention (because it is unusual or exciting etc.) wordnet
- 7 Attention that is given to or received from someone or something. uncountable, usually
"[…] St. Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close-packed, crushed by the buttressed height of the railway viaduct, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind and left only a dull oppression of the spirit."
- 8 a sense of concern with and curiosity about someone or something wordnet
- 9 An involvement, claim, right, share, stake in or link with a financial, business, or other undertaking or endeavor. countable, usually
"When scientists and doctors write articles and when politicians run for office, they are required in many countries to declare any existing conflicts of interest (competing interests)."
- 10 (usually plural) a social group whose members control some field of activity and who have common aims wordnet
- 11 Something which, or someone whom, one is interested in. countable, usually
"Lexicography is one of my interests."
- 12 (law) a right or legal share of something; a financial involvement with something wordnet
- 13 Condition or quality of exciting concern or being of importance. uncountable, usually
"The conscience, indeed, is already violated when to moral good or evil we oppose things possessing no moral interest."
- 14 a fixed charge for borrowing money; usually a percentage of the amount borrowed wordnet
- 15 Injury, or compensation for injury; damages. obsolete, rare, uncountable, usually
"How can this infinite beauty, power and goodnes admit any correspondencie or similitude with a thing so base and abject as we are, without extreme interest and manifest derogation from his divine greatnesse?"
- 16 The persons and companies interested in any particular business or measure, taken collectively. in-plural, often, uncountable, usually
"the iron interest; the cotton interest"
- 17 A genre of factual short films, generally more amusing than informative, especially those not covered by a more specific genre label. attributive, historical, uncountable, usually
"By interest films is meant a variety of subjects which cannot be classified under such recognized headings as fiction, travel, or topical. They include wonderful inventions, little known industries, applied art, feats of engineering, and other events capable of effective illustration."
Verb
- 1 To engage the attention of; to awaken interest in; to excite emotion or passion in, in behalf of a person or thing.
"It might interest you to learn that others have already tried that approach."
- 2 excite the curiosity of; engage the interest of wordnet
- 3 To be concerned with or engaged in; to affect; to concern; to excite. impersonal, obsolete, often
"Oh, rather, gracious sir, / Create me to this glory; since my cause / Doth interest this fair quarrel; valued least, / I am his equal."
- 4 be on the mind of wordnet
- 5 To cause or permit to share. obsolete
"The mystical communion of all faithful men is such as maketh every one to be interested in those precious blessings which any one of them receiveth at God's hands."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 be of importance or consequence wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"David has a keen interest in aesthetics — the qualities that make a painting, sculpture, musical composition, or poem pleasing to the eye, ear, or mind."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "interest"?
Common synonyms include: stake, absolute interest, absorb, absorption, accent, account.
How do you use "interest" in a sentence?
David has a keen interest in aesthetics — the qualities that make a painting, sculpture, musical composition, or poem pleasing to the eye, ear, or mind.
How do you pronounce "interest"?
Pronounced /ˈɪn.tɹɛst/.
Etymology
From Middle English interest, from Old French interesse and interest (French intérêt), from Medieval Latin interesse, from Latin interesse.