fund

1 of 3

noun

ˈfənd 

1

a

: a sum of money or other resources whose principal or interest is set apart for a specific objective

b

: money on deposit on which checks or drafts can be drawn

—usually used in plural

c

: capital

d

funds plural : the stock of the British national debt

—usually used with the

2

: an available quantity of material or intangible resources : supply

3

funds plural : available pecuniary resources

4

: an organization administering a special fund

fund

2 of 3

verb

funded; funding; funds

transitive verb

1

a

: to make provision of resources for discharging the interest or principal of

b

: to provide funds for

a federally funded program

2

: to place in a fund : accumulate

3

: to convert into a debt that is payable either at a distant date or at no definite date and that bears a fixed interest

fund a floating debt

funder

ˈfən-dər 

noun

fund

3 of 3

abbreviation

fundamental

Synonyms

Noun

• account
• budget
• deposit
• kitty
• nest egg
• pool

Verb

• endow
• finance
• subsidize

Examples of fund in a Sentence

Noun

The fund was established to aid the poor.

All her funds were in a checking account.

His funds were getting lower as he continued to look for a job.

The comedian had a large fund of jokes.

Verb

The group funded three new scholarships.

Who funds the company pension plan?

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

But so far, the majority of the legislature has signaled that the use of COMBAT tax funds doesn’t qualify. —Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 24 May 2025

That means people who are paid from the UI fund and eventually paid by an employer – as happens in teacher strikes – could result in an overpayment that the state can recoup. —Center Square, The Washington Examiner, 24 May 2025

Verb

The library will be privately funded and maintained, similar to other presidential libraries in the U.S. Presidential Library System. —Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 26 May 2025

In 2023, the country funded 29% of the world’s R&D, according to the American Assn. —Christina Larson, Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

earlier fond, borrowed (with later respelling after Latin fundus) from French fond "bottom, base, foundation," (in plural) "sum of money, capital, resources," going back to Old French funt, font "bottom, base, cultivated ground," going back to Latin fundus — more at bottom entry 1

Verb

derivative of fund entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1628, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

1764, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing fund

• contingency fund
• fund-raise
• fund-raiser
• fund-raising
• hedge fund
• mutual fund
• pension fund
• rainy day fund
• revolving fund
• sinking fund
• slush fund
• trust fund

Rhymes for fund

• and
• bund
• gunned
• hund
• mund
• shunned
• stunned
• fecund
• refund
• rotund
• secund

Kids Definition

fund

1 of 2 noun

ˈfənd 

1

: a quantity of available resources : stock, supply

a large fund of jokes

2

a

: a sum of money for a special purpose

the book fund

b

: available money

—usually used in plural

fund

2 of 2 verb

: to supply funds for

a program funded by the state

Etymology

Noun

Latin fundus "bottom, piece of land owned as property" — related to found entry 2, fundamental

Legal Definition

fund

1 of 2 noun

1

: a sum of money or other resources whose principal or interest is set aside for a specific objective

— client security fund

: a fund established by each state to compensate clients for losses suffered due to their attorneys' misappropriation of funds

— common trust fund

: an in-house trust fund established by a bank trust department to pool the assets of many small trusts for greater diversification in investing

— executor fund

: a fund established in estate planning to provide for the payment of final expenses by an executor

— joint welfare fund

: a fund that is established by collective bargaining to provide health and welfare benefits to employees and that is jointly administered by representatives of labor and management

— paid-in fund

: a reserve cash fund in lieu of a capital stock account set up by mutual insurance companies to cover unforeseen losses

— sinking fund

: a fund set up and accumulated by regular deposits for paying off the principal on a debt or for other specified purposes (as self-insurance)

— strike fund

: a fund accumulated by a union through special assessments or from general funds and used to pay striking workers or for other strike-related activities

— Taft-Hartley fund \ ˈtaft-​ˈhärt-​lē-​ \ after the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, which established it

: joint welfare fund in this entry

— trust fund

: property (as money or securities) settled or held in a trust

2

: an organization administering a special fund

— exchange-traded fund

: a fund that is similar to an index fund in tracking a stock index but that is traded on the stock market

— growth fund

: a mutual fund that invests in the stock of growth companies

— hedge fund

: an investing group usually in the form of a limited partnership that employs speculative techniques in the hope of obtaining large capital gains

— index fund

: a mutual fund that invests to reflect the composition of the market as a whole by matching its investments to a stock index

— mutual fund

: an investment company that invests its shareholders' money in a usually diversified group of securities of other companies

— vulture fund

: an investment company that buys up bankrupt or insolvent companies with the goal of reorganizing them so they can be profitably resold as going concerns

fund

2 of 2 transitive verb

1

a

: to make provision of resources for discharging the principal or interest of

b

: to provide financial resources for

2

: to place in a fund

3

: to convert into a debt that is payable either at a distant date or at no definite date and that bears a fixed interest