Definition of 'interest'
Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense interests
, present participle interesting
, past tense, past participle interested
3. verb
4. verb
5. countable noun [usually plural]
If something is in the interests of a particular person or group, it will benefit them in some way.
6. countable noun [usually plural]
7. countable noun
A person or organization that has interests in a company or in a particular type of business owns shares in this company or this
type of business.
[business]
8. countable noun
9. uncountable noun [oft NOUN noun]
10. See also compound interest, interested, interesting, self-interest, vested interest
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
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interest
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Word Frequency
interest in British English
noun
3.
the quality of such stimulation
6. (often plural)
a.
a right, share, or claim, esp in a business or property
b.
the business, property, etc, in which a person has such concern
7.
b.
such a charge expressed as a percentage per time unit of the sum borrowed or used
8. (often plural)
we must not offend the landed interest
9. See declare an interest
verb (transitive)
11.
to cause to become involved in something; concern
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
C15: from Latin: it concerns, from interesse; from inter- + esse to be
Word Frequency
interest in American English
noun
1.
a right or claim to something
2.
a.
a share or participation in something
b.
something, as a business, in which one participates or has a share
c.
a personal connection or involvement which might be thought to compromise one's impartiality in carrying out one's official duties
4. [usually pl.]
a group of people having a common concern or dominant power in some industry, occupation, cause, etc.
the steel interests
5.
personal influence
6.
a.
a feeling of intentness, concern, or curiosity about something
an interest in politics
b.
the power of causing this feeling
books of interest to children
c.
something causing this feeling
the academic interests of a scholar
8.
a.
money paid for the use of money
b.
the rate of such payment, expressed as a percentage per unit of time
verb transitive
10.
to involve the interest, or concern, of; have an effect upon
11.
to cause to have an interest or take part in
can I interest you in a game of golf?
12.
to excite the attention or curiosity of
Idioms:
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin
ME interesse < ML usury, compensation (in L, to be between, be different, interest < inter-, between + esse, to be: see is1): altered, infl. by OFr interest < L, it interests, concerns, 3d pers. sing., pres. indic., of interesseWord Frequency
interest in American English
(ˈɪntərɪst, -trɪst)
noun
1.
the feeling of a person whose attention, concern, or curiosity is particularly engaged by something
She has a great interest in the poetry of Donne
2.
something that concerns, involves, draws the attention of, or arouses the curiosity
of a person
His interests are philosophy and chess
3.
power of exciting such concern, involvement, etc.; quality of being interesting
political issues of great interest
4.
concern; importance
a matter of primary interest
5.
a business, cause, or the like in which a person has a share, concern, responsibility, etc
6.
a share, right, or title in the ownership of property, in a commercial or financial undertaking, or the like
He bought half an interest in the store
7.
a participation in or concern for a cause, advantage, responsibility, etc
8.
a number or group of persons, or a party, financially interested in the same business,
industry, or enterprise
the banking interest
9. See interests
10.
We need an arbiter who is without interest in the outcome
11.
benefit; advantage
to have one's own interest in mind
12.
regard for one's own advantage or profit; self-interest
The partnership dissolved because of their conflicting interests
13.
influence from personal importance or capability; power of influencing the action of others
14. Finance
a.
a sum paid or charged for the use of money or for borrowing money
b.
such a sum expressed as a percentage of money borrowed to be paid over a given period,
usually one year
15.
Jones paid him back with a left hook and added a right uppercut for interest
16. See in the interest of
transitive verb
17.
to engage or excite the attention or curiosity of
Mystery stories interested him greatly
18.
to concern (a person, nation, etc.) in something; involve
The fight for peace interests all nations
19.
to cause to take a personal concern or share; induce to participate
to interest a person in an enterprise
20.
to cause to be concerned; affect
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word Frequency
interest in Finance
(ɪntrɪst)
noun
(Finance: General)
compound interest, interest rate, interest rate swap Interest is the extra money that you pay if you have borrowed money, or the extra money that
you receive if you have money in some types of bank account.
The home buyer puts up the other half of the closing costs and fee, and then pays
interest at 12 percent a year to the investor.
Investors want to lend because lenders would typically receive the 10-15 percent
interest on the loan.
Interest is the extra money that you pay if you have borrowed money, or the extra money that
you receive if you have money in some types of bank account.
Collins COBUILD Key Words for Finance. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word Frequency
interest in Accounting
(ɪntrɪst)
noun
(Accounting: Basic)
compound interest, interest rate Interest is the extra money that you pay if you have borrowed money, or the extra money that
you receive if you have money in some types of bank account.
The home buyer puts up the other half of the closing costs and fee, and then pays
interest at 12 percent a year to the investor.
Investors want to lend because lenders would typically receive the 10-15 percent
interest on the loan.
Interest is the extra money that you pay if you have borrowed money, or the extra money that
you receive if you have money in some types of bank account.
Collins COBUILD Key Words for Accounting. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Examples of 'interest' in a sentence
interest
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Trends of
interest
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In other languages
interest
British English: interest
/ˈɪntrɛst/ NOUN
curiosity If you have an interest in something, you want to learn or hear more about it.
There has been a lot of interest in the elections in the last two weeks.
- American English: interest /ˈɪntrɪst, -tərɪst/ curiosity
- Arabic: إِهْتِمَامٌ
- Brazilian Portuguese: interesse
- Chinese: 兴趣
- Croatian: zanimanje
- Czech: zájem
- Danish: interesse
- Dutch: interesse
- European Spanish: interés importancia
- Finnish: kiinnostus
- French: intérêt
- German: Interesse
- Greek: ενδιαφέρον
- Italian: interesse
- Japanese: 興味 curiosity
- Korean: 관심
- Norwegian: interesse
- Polish: zainteresowanie
- European Portuguese: interesse
- Romanian: interes
- Russian: интерес
- Latin American Spanish: interés
- Swedish: intresse
- Thai: ความสนใจ
- Turkish: ilgi merak
- Ukrainian: інтерес
- Vietnamese: sự quan tâm
British English: interest
/ˈɪntrɛst/ NOUN
money Interest is extra money that you receive if you have invested a sum of money.
Does your current account pay interest?
- American English: interest /ˈɪntrɪst, -tərɪst/ income
- Arabic: رِبْحٌ
- Brazilian Portuguese: juros
- Chinese: 利息
- Croatian: kamate
- Czech: úrok
- Danish: rente
- Dutch: rente
- European Spanish: interés actitud
- Finnish: korko rahallinen
- French: intérêts
- German: Zinsen
- Greek: τόκος
- Italian: interesse
- Japanese: 利息 income
- Korean: 이익
- Norwegian: rente
- Polish: oprocentowanie
- European Portuguese: juros
- Romanian: dobândă
- Russian: доход доход по вкладу
- Latin American Spanish: interés
- Swedish: ränta
- Thai: ดอกเบี้ย
- Turkish: faiz
- Ukrainian: відсоток
- Vietnamese: tiền lãi
British English: interest
/ˈɪntrɛst/ VERB
If something interests you, you want to learn more about it or to continue doing it.
These are the stories that interest me.
- American English: interest /ˈɪntrɪst, -tərɪst/
- Arabic: يُثِيرُ إِهْتِمَامُ
- Brazilian Portuguese: interessar
- Chinese: 引发兴趣
- Croatian: zanimati
- Czech: zajímat
- Danish: interessere
- Dutch: interesseren
- European Spanish: interesar
- Finnish: kiinnostaa
- French: intéresser
- German: interessieren
- Greek: ενδιαφέρω
- Italian: interessare
- Japanese: 興味を起こさせる
- Korean: 흥미를 갖게 하다
- Norwegian: interessere
- Polish: zainteresować
- European Portuguese: interessar
- Romanian: a interesa
- Russian: интересовать
- Latin American Spanish: interesar
- Swedish: intressera
- Thai: ทำให้สนใจ
- Turkish: ilgilenmek
- Ukrainian: цікавити
- Vietnamese: gây sự chú ý
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