Definition of dividend
1 : an individual share of something distributed: such asa : a share in a pro rata distribution (as of profits) to stockholders Profits are distributed to shareholders as dividends.b : a share of surplus allocated to a policyholder in a participating insurance policy
2a : a resultant return or reward our efforts are finally paying dividendsb : bonus
3a mathematics : a number to be dividedb : a sum or fund to be divided and distributed
From the M-W Editors
Examples of dividend in a Sentence
Profits are distributed to shareholders as dividends.
the reward money was an unexpected dividend for our good deed
Recent Examples of dividend from the Web
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But stock indexes chugged again to record heights, led by technology companies and dividend payers.
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Woods, by training an electrical engineer who's spent his entire career at Exxon, will be confronted by investors demanding that Exxon cut new spending on oil fields and hand the cash over to shareholders in dividends instead.
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Woods, an electrical engineer by training who has spent his entire career at Exxon, will be confronted by investors demanding that Exxon cut new spending on oil fields and hand the cash over to shareholders in dividends instead.
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The early experiment to play the Cubs outfielder in the leadoff spot didn't pay dividends, and Schwarber was hitting .173 this season — .133 in May — before Tuesday night's game in San Diego.
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Their formerly shaky pitching forced the Huskies to develop formidable hitters, which has paid dividends this season.
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Lanxess stock, which was also trading ex-dividend, gained 6 percent to 66.30 euros as of 2:34 p.m. in Frankfurt, a one-year high.
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His offseason hiring of pitching coach Jason Dietrich paid large dividends, especially with ace David Peterson.
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Training yourself and your team to come in under budget consistently will pay dividends down the road, and free up cash to invest in bigger ideas.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dividend'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of dividend
Middle English divident, from Latin dividendus, gerundive of dividere —see 1divide
Other Economics Terms
DIVIDEND Defined for English Language Learners
dividend
playDefinition of dividend for English Language Learners
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finance : an amount of a company's profits that the company pays to people who own stock in the company
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: an advantage or benefit that you get because of something you have done
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mathematics : a number that is being divided by another number
DIVIDEND Defined for Kids
dividend
playDefinition of dividend for Students
1 : a number to be divided by another number
2 : an amount of a company's profits that is paid to the owners of its stock
Law Dictionary
dividend
playLegal Definition of dividend
1 : the part of corporate net earnings distributed usually periodically (as quarterly) to stockholders in the form of cash, additional shares, or property either as a set amount per share or a percentage of par value constructive dividend : a benefit (as unreasonable compensation or use of corporate property) or transfer of funds from a corporation to a shareholder that is interpreted by a taxing authority as a dividend cumulative dividend : a dividend distributed to preferred stockholders that is added to and paid with the next payment or future payments if not paid when due extraordinary dividend : a dividend declared in addition to a regular dividend because of unanticipated profits or a nonrecurring increase of revenue
2 : a share of the surplus earnings of a mutual insurance company paid to policyholders either in the form of cash disbursements or through reduction of premiums
3 : a payment disbursed to investors from the income of a mutual fund
Learn More about dividend
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See words that rhyme with dividend Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for dividend Spanish Central: Translation of dividend Nglish: Translation of dividend for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of dividend for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about dividend
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