Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A state of curiosity or concern about or attention to something.
- noun Something, such as a quality, subject, or activity, that evokes this mental state.
- noun Regard for one's own benefit or advantage; self-interest.
- noun A right, claim, or legal share.
- noun Something in which such a right, claim, or share is held.
- noun A person or group of persons holding such a right, claim, or share.
- noun Involvement with or participation in something.
- noun A charge for a loan, usually a percentage of the amount loaned.
- noun An excess or bonus beyond what is expected or due.
- noun An interest group.
- noun The particular cause supported by an interest group.
- transitive verb To arouse the curiosity or hold the attention of.
- transitive verb To cause to become involved or concerned with.
- transitive verb Archaic To concern or affect.
- idiom (interest/interests) To the advantage of; for the sake of.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To concern; affect; be of advantage or importance to.
- To engage the attention of; excite concern in; stimulate to feeling or action in regard to something.
- To cause to take a personal concern or share; induce to participate: as, to
interest a person in an enterprise. - To place or station.
- noun That which concerns or is of importance; that which is advantageous, or connected with advantage or welfare; concern; concernment; behoof; advantage: as, the common interests of life; to act for the public interest.
- noun The feeling that something (the object of the feeling) concerns one; a feeling of the importance of something with reference to one's self; a feeling of personal concernment in an object, such as to fix the attention upon it; appreciative or sympathetic regard: as, to feel an interest in a person; to excite one's interest in a project; a subject of absorbing interest.
- noun Personal or selfish consideration; regard to private benefit or profit: as, his actions are controlled by interest; the clashing of rival interests.
- noun Influence from personal importance or capability; power of influencing the action of others: as, he has interest at court; to solicit a person's interest in behalf of an application.
- noun Personal possession or right of control; share or participation in ownership: as, to have great interests in a county; an interest in a stock company; also, anything that is of importance from a commercial or financial point of view; a business; property in general: as, the mining interests.
- noun In law, in the most general sense, legal concern of a person in a thing or in the conduct of another person, whether it consist in a right of enjoyment in or benefit from property, or a right of advantage, or a subjection to liability in the event of conduct; more specifically, a right in property, or to some of those uses or benefits from which the property is inseparable.
- noun Payment, or a sum paid, for the use of money, or for forbearance of a debt.
- noun Hence Something added or thrown in by way of premium or enhancement; an added quantity over and above what is due, deserved, or expected.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To engage the attention of; to awaken interest in; to excite emotion or passion in, in behalf of a person or thing
- transitive verb obsolete To be concerned with or engaged in; to affect; to concern; to excite; -- often used impersonally.
- transitive verb obsolete To cause or permit to share.
- noun Excitement of feeling, whether pleasant or painful, accompanying special attention to some object; concern; a desire to learn more about a topic or engage often in an activity.
- noun (Finance, Commerce) Participation in advantage, profit, and responsibility; share; portion; part
- noun Advantage, personal or general; good, regarded as a selfish benefit; profit; benefit.
- noun (Finance) A fee paid for the use of money; a fee paid for a loan; -- usually reckoned as a percentage.
- noun Any excess of advantage over and above an exact equivalent for what is given or rendered.
- noun The persons interested in any particular business or measure, taken collectively
- noun interest, not only on the original principal, but also on unpaid interest from the time it fell due.
- noun interest on the principal sum without interest on overdue interest.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun uncountable Attention that is given to or received from someone or something.
- noun countable A
business oramorous link orinvolvement . - noun obsolete, rare
Injury , or compensation for injury;damages . - verb To attract
attention orconcern .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the power of attracting or holding one's attention (because it is unusual or exciting etc.)
- noun (law) a right or legal share of something; a financial involvement with something
- noun a diversion that occupies one's time and thoughts (usually pleasantly)
- noun a fixed charge for borrowing money; usually a percentage of the amount borrowed
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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It might have been made two or three, or even six times larger, without diminishing from the interest of any one of its pages -- _indeed with an increased interest_ -- but the want of the pecuniary means, and other considerations, have induced me to present it as here seen.
The Narrative of Lunsford Lane, Formerly of Raleigh, N.C. Lunsford Lane
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It has become the interest of the planter to make it for the _interest of the people_ to remain on his estate.
The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Omnibus American Anti-Slavery Society
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"He jocularly observed, on one occasion, to a creditor, who peremptorily required payment of the interest due on a long-standing debt, 'My dear sir, you know it is not my _interest_ to pay the
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 19, No. 536, March 3, 1832 Various
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I'd rather give the money and control of health care to doctors .. but instead it's going to bureaucrats who's main interest is lining their own pockets.
GOP senator warns of 'minor revolution' over health care 2009
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Its main interest is that it is not supposed to occur in the dog-eat-dog world of Darwinian competition.
Nigel Barber: Small Birds Solve Global Warming Nigel Barber 2010
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After I wrote this, I realized I should have included a second category: people whose main interest is recreational mayhem rather than political ideology.
The Volokh Conspiracy » House Democratic Leaders Drop “Deem and Pass” 2010
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GOP will have to waite for next 15 years to take control of any house or Presidency, as all hard working American knows that GOP 's main interest is for their own well being not for the average Joe, You all will experiance in next 6 months that Economy will rebound back, Jobs will open up for people and healthcrare reform will be done after that you will see the poll will bounce back.
CNN poll: GOP has erased party popularity gap in Congress 2009
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So almost double the number of screens for a sequel with built-in interest from the first movie and -- voila!
Weekend box office: 'Paranormal Activity 2' dominates with $41.5 million Jen Chaney 2010
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Someone who lends money (or buys a financial asset) and takes in interest is a rentier, not a capitalist. bdbd says:
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Its main interest is that it is not supposed to occur in the dog-eat-dog world of Darwinian competition.
Nigel Barber: Small Birds Solve Global Warming Nigel Barber 2010
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