fi·nance | \ fə-ˈnan(t)s 
, ˈfī-ˌnan(t)s, fī-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
verbfinanced; financing
Definition of finance (Entry 2 of 2)
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
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Synonyms & Antonyms for finance
Synonyms: Noun
Synonyms: Verb
Antonyms: Verb
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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.
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Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Private markets are one of the few corners of finance untouched by fee pressures that have pulled the cost of investing closer to zero.
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Dawn Lim, WSJ, "BlackRock Scales Back Private-Equity Fund Ambitions," 1 Jan. 2021 The first rule of personal finance is to never carry a credit card balance.
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Ben Carlson, Fortune, "How your personal finances can survive a pandemic," 28 Dec. 2020 They were paired with two navigators, including a finance director from General Mills.
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Jean Hopfensperger, Star Tribune, "'Shark Tank for Churches' is launched in Twin Cities," 24 Dec. 2020 The levy represents a $115,566 increase over the property taxes collected in 2020, finance director Kim Auchstetter said.
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Alicia Fabbre, chicagotribune.com, "New Lenox Board increases levy slightly, but hopes for rebate to homeowners," 15 Dec. 2020 The city’s finance director said Dec. 2 that ten city checks were cashed across the country for roughly $9,700.
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cleveland, "Phony CEI workers con way into resident’s home: Highland Heights Police Blotter," 11 Dec. 2020 Because the entire system cost less than $100,000, a section in the city’s municipal code allows the police department to get approval from the city manager or finance director.
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Gustavo Solis, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Chula Vista gives immigration officials, others access to license plate reader data," 6 Dec. 2020 Until now, Tettey served as finance director at Island Records.
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Lars Brandle, Billboard, "Universal Music U.K. Launches 0207 Def Jam," 25 Nov. 2020 Howes said that sense of camaraderie has existed during her 25 years as Slidell’s finance director.
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Andrew Canulette, NOLA.com, "Retiring Slidell finance director finds same spirit of community in her replacement," 24 Nov. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb 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.
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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.
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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.
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Washington Post, "Ex-aide to Gov. Hogan declines to answer lawmakers’ questions about large severance payment," 17 Dec. 2020 The federal government is still not providing significant funding for transitional programs, so local governments or nonprofits will have to find ways to finance it without federal assistance.
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AZCentral.com, "'A wake-up call': 500 homeless people died in metro Phoenix in first 9 months of 2020," 17 Dec. 2020 The Alabama Department of Corrections is negotiating with two private developer teams that will finance, build, and maintain the prisons and lease them to the state, which will operate them.
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Mike Cason | Mcason@al.com, al, "Federal court could tell Alabama how to fix its prisons," 13 Dec. 2020 The council noted that the raise was always contingent upon money being available to finance it.
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Karen Caffarini, chicagotribune.com, "Hobart says no raises, but paid days off are an option in 2021," 11 Dec. 2020 Oil and gas exploration in the region would be costly at a time when demand for oil is waning, and the nation’s major banks have vowed not to finance it.
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Alex Demarban, Anchorage Daily News, "Trump administration schedules Arctic Alaska refuge lease sale for early January," 3 Dec. 2020 The debt-to-equity ratio, which divides total debt by shareholder equity, offers insight into how companies finance themselves.
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Dallas News, "Motley Fool: Slow-and-steady Verizon isn’t a sizzling stock but it’s still worth owning," 8 Nov. 2020
See MoreThese 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.
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Last Updated
9 Jan 2021
Look-up Popularity
Cite this Entry
“Finance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/finance. Accessed 17 Jan. 2021.
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More Definitions for finance
finance
noun English Language Learners Definition of finance
(Entry 1 of 2)
: the way in which money is used and handled especially : the way in which large amounts of money are used and handled by governments and companies
: money available to a government, business, or person
: matters relating to money and how it is spent or saved
finance
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of finance (Entry 2 of 2)
: to provide money for (something or someone)
: to buy (something) by borrowing money that will be paid back over a period of time
See the full definition for finance in the English Language Learners Dictionary
finance
nounfi·nance | \ fə-ˈnans , ˈfī-ˌnans \
, ˈfī-ˌnans \Kids Definition of finance
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 finances plural : money available to a government, business, or individual
2 : the system that includes the circulation of money, the providing of banks and credit, and the making of investments
finance
verbfinanced; financing
Kids Definition of finance (Entry 2 of 2)
: to provide money for
She financed the trip herself.
finance
nounfi·nance
Legal Definition of finance
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 plural : money or other liquid resources of a government, business, group, or individual
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
4 : the obtaining of funds or capital : financing
finance
transitive verbfinanced; financing
Legal Definition of finance (Entry 2 of 2)
1a : to raise or provide funds or capital for
finance a takeover
b : to furnish with necessary funds
2 : to sell something to on credit
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Time Traveler for finance
The first known use of finance was in 1739
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