finance

noun

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fi·nance | \ fə-ˈnan(t)s

, ˈfī-ˌnan(t)s, fī-ˈnan(t)s

Definition of finance

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 finances plural : money or other liquid resources of a government, business, group, or individual The library closed due to a lack of finances.

2 : the system that includes the circulation of money, the granting of credit, the making of investments, and the provision of banking facilities

3 : the science or study of the management of funds An expert in finance predicts a global recession.

4 : the obtaining of funds or capital : financing business expansion for which finance would otherwise be unavailable— F. D. Roosevelt

finance

verb

financed; financing

Definition of finance (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : to raise or provide funds or capital for finance a new house

b : to furnish with necessary funds finance a son through college

2 : to sell something to on credit

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about finance

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Examples of finance in a Sentence

Noun She's taking a course on personal finance. an expert in finance who predicts global economic disaster The library closed due to a lack of finances. Verb His parents financed his college education. The study was financed by a government grant. They financed him to study abroad.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun In a press release announcing his death, the Edmond de Rothschild Group said de Rothschild was passionate about finance, sailing, cars and wine. — Joseph Pisani, ajc, "Banking heir Benjamin de Rothschild dies at 57," 16 Jan. 2021 Chris Korge, a Miami lawyer, will continue as the DNC’s finance chair, the transition said. — Ken Thomas, WSJ, "Biden Taps Jaime Harrison, Former Senate Candidate, to Lead DNC," 15 Jan. 2021 For this article, The Post tallied the number of consumer finance firms receiving PPP loans that have faced scrutiny from regulators or drawn more than 100 consumer complaints with the CFPB. — Washington Post, "Debt collectors, payday lenders collected over $500 million in federal pandemic relief," 15 Jan. 2021 Andrew, one of the upper-class trio, did, in fact, go to Oxford as predicted and then on into finance. — Alissa Quart, The New Republic, "Michael Apted Took The Very Long View," 12 Jan. 2021 Miriam Adelson served as a finance vice chairwoman for Trump's inauguration in 2017 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump in 2018. — Joseph Simonson, Washington Examiner, "Sheldon Adelson's death causes uncertainty for future GOP fundraising efforts," 12 Jan. 2021 Community finance institutions can start issuing PPP loans to first-time recipients on Monday, Jan. 11, a senior administration official said Friday morning. — Aaron Gregg, Anchorage Daily News, "How to get a small business loan from the new $284 billion PPP program," 9 Jan. 2021 Either way, the bargaining chessboard for finance appears to favor Brussels at the moment. — John Detrixhe, Quartz, "London lost a chunk of European stock trading this week. What will it lose next?," 8 Jan. 2021 Brad Levin has been promoted to senior vp, finance at Sony/ATV. — Chris Eggertsen, Billboard, "Executive Turntable: Radio Icon to Work Weekends for Reach Media, Glassnote Names Marketing Head," 8 Jan. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb The indictment charges the men with four counts: conspiracy to provide and conceal material support and resources to terrorists; conspiracy to commit transnational acts of terrorism; conspiracy to finance terrorism; and narco-terrorism conspiracy. — Rebecca Davis O’brien, WSJ, "Alleged MS-13 Gang Leaders Charged in DOJ Indictment," 14 Jan. 2021 Originally touted as a way to create jobs and offset tax cuts, the drilling of the ANWR poses a high degree of risk for financial backing as banks refuse to finance Arctic drilling projects. — Derek Van Dam, CNN, "Trump's environmental swan song sheds light on climate future," 14 Jan. 2021 Other lenders decided not to finance oil and gas companies that drill in the Arctic, prompting outrage from Alaska’s two Republican senators. — Robert Schmidt, Bloomberg.com, "Wall Street Fumes at 11th-Hour Rule From Trump Bank Watchdog," 14 Jan. 2021 This dismisses the fact that, with these restrictions, restaurants have essentially been forced to finance public safety during the pandemic. — Jamie Robinson, Star Tribune, "Editorial counterpoint: The pandemic isn't fair; public policy should be," 12 Jan. 2021 The goal of the tangential businesses is to serve the journalism work, which is becoming increasingly hard to finance through traditional revenue models or ads. — Sam Dean, Los Angeles Times, "Why buy the Village Voice?," 4 Jan. 2021 Moving to Berlin in search of adventure, Ragıp helps finance a plot against Abdülhamid’s tyranny, rubbing shoulders with Enver and Talat, Young Turk leaders who eventually deposed the sultan in 1908. — Kaya Genç, The New Republic, "When Historical Fiction Is a Crime," 30 Dec. 2020 Companies finance these operations by taking out direct loans and by issuing stocks and bonds. — Ula Chrobak, Popular Science, "Switching your bank might help slow the climate crisis," 29 Dec. 2020 It was created as an independent agency in 1970, and today both operates facilities and helps finance them, effectively bundling debt for infrastructure projects and straddling the line between the public and private sectors. — Washington Post, "Ex-aide to Gov. Hogan declines to answer lawmakers’ questions about large severance payment," 17 Dec. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'finance.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for finance

Noun

borrowed from French finances, going back to Middle French, "monetary resources, revenue," in singular, "money, resource," from finer "to pay by way of settlement, make a payment" (derivative of fin "final agreement, payment, fine entry 3") + -ance -ance

Note: In the current senses, finance is borrowed directly from French, though the word existed in English with early senses going back to medieval French; cf. Middle English fynaunce "ending, outcome, monetary payment, ransom," borrowed from Anglo-French in these senses.

Verb

derivative of finance entry 1

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