amortize

verb

am·​or·​tize ˈa-mər-ˌtīz 

 also  ə-ˈmȯr-

amortized; amortizing

transitive verb

1

: to pay off (an obligation, such as a mortgage) gradually usually by periodic payments of principal and interest or by payments to a sinking fund

amortize a loan

2

: to gradually reduce or write off the cost or value of (something, such as an asset)

amortize goodwill

amortize machinery

amortizable

ˈa-mər-ˌtī-zə-bəl 

 also  ə-ˈmȯr-

adjective

Did you know?

When you amortize a loan, you "kill it off" gradually by paying it down in installments. This is reflected in the word's etymology. Amortize derives via Middle English and Anglo-French from Vulgar Latin admortire, meaning "to kill." The Latin noun mors ("death") is a root of admortire; it is related to our word murder, and it also gave us a word naming a kind of loan that is usually amortized: mortgage. Amortize carries a different meaning in the field of corporate finance, where it means to depreciate the cost or value of an asset (as, for example, to reduce interest revenue on that asset for tax purposes).

Examples of amortize in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Ineos priced both of its first two models surprisingly low for a startup automaker, clearly planning to amortize development costs over decades, rather than these first few years. —Michael Van Runkle, Robb Report, 24 Sep. 2025

This act would mean that the company would choose the period length of the R&D project (or a period of at least 60 months) and amortize the costs over that period. —Nathan Goldman, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025

The warrants are priced at fair market value on the date of vesting and amortized over 10 years. —Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 5 Aug. 2025

Previously, such costs could be amortized over five years. —Paul Egan, Freep.com, 24 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English amortisen to kill, alienate in mortmain, from Anglo-French amorteser, alteration of amortir, from Vulgar Latin *admortire to kill, from Latin ad- + mort-, mors death — more at murder

First Known Use

1830, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for amortize

• advertise
• aggrandize
• agonize
• alibis
• alkalies
• alkalis
• amplifies
• analyse
• analyze
• anywise
• authorize
• butterflies

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Legal Definition

amortize

transitive verb

amor·​tize ˈa-mər-ˌtīz, ə-ˈmȯr- 

amortized; amortizing

: to reduce (an amount) gradually: as

a

: to pay off (as a loan) gradually usually by periodic payments of principal and interest or payments to a sinking fund

b

: to gradually reduce the cost of (as an asset) especially for tax purposes by making periodic charges to income over a time span

amortize the machinery over five years

see also depreciation compare capitalize, deduct

amortizable adjective

amortization

ˌa-mər-tə-ˈzā-shən, ə-ˌmȯr- 

noun