INTEREST (interest)

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does interest mean? 

• INTEREST (noun)
  The noun INTEREST has 7 senses:

1. a sense of concern with and curiosity about someone or something

2. a reason for wanting something done

3. the power of attracting or holding one's attention (because it is unusual or exciting etc.)

4. a fixed charge for borrowing money; usually a percentage of the amount borrowed

5. (law) a right or legal share of something; a financial involvement with something

6. (usually plural) a social group whose members control some field of activity and who have common aims

7. a diversion that occupies one's time and thoughts (usually pleasantly)

  Familiarity information: INTEREST used as a noun is common.

• INTEREST (verb)
  The verb INTEREST has 3 senses:

1. excite the curiosity of; engage the interest of

2. be on the mind of

3. be of importance or consequence

  Familiarity information: INTEREST used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INTEREST (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A sense of concern with and curiosity about someone or something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

interest; involvement

Context example:

an interest in music

Hypernyms ("interest" is a kind of...):

curiosity; wonder (a state in which you want to learn more about something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "interest"):

concern (something that interests you because it is important or affects you)

enthusiasm (a lively interest)

Derivation:

interest (excite the curiosity of; engage the interest of)

interest (be on the mind of)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A reason for wanting something done

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

interest; sake

Context example:

in the common interest

Hypernyms ("interest" is a kind of...):

benefit; welfare (something that aids or promotes well-being)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "interest"):

behalf (for someone's benefit (usually expressed as 'in behalf' rather than 'on behalf' and usually with a possessive))

Sense 3

Meaning:

The power of attracting or holding one's attention (because it is unusual or exciting etc.)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

interest; interestingness

Context example:

primary colors can add interest to a room

Hypernyms ("interest" is a kind of...):

power; powerfulness (possession of controlling influence)

Attribute:

uninteresting (arousing no interest or attention or curiosity or excitement)

interesting (arousing or holding the attention)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "interest"):

charisma; personal appeal; personal magnetism (a personal attractiveness or interestingness that enables you to influence others)

news; newsworthiness (the quality of being sufficiently interesting to be reported in news bulletins)

topicality (the attribute of being of interest at the present time)

color; colour; vividness (interest and variety and intensity)

shrillness (the quality of being sharp or harsh to the senses)

Derivation:

interest (excite the curiosity of; engage the interest of)

interest (be of importance or consequence)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A fixed charge for borrowing money; usually a percentage of the amount borrowed

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Context example:

how much interest do you pay on your mortgage?

Hypernyms ("interest" is a kind of...):

fixed charge; fixed cost; fixed costs (a periodic charge that does not vary with business volume (as insurance or rent or mortgage payments etc.))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "interest"):

compound interest (interest calculated on both the principal and the accrued interest)

simple interest (interest paid on the principal alone)

Sense 5

Meaning:

(law) a right or legal share of something; a financial involvement with something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Synonyms:

interest; stake

Context example:

a stake in the company's future

Hypernyms ("interest" is a kind of...):

part; percentage; portion; share (assets belonging to or due to or contributed by an individual person or group)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "interest"):

insurable interest (an interest in a person or thing that will support the issuance of an insurance policy; an interest in the survival of the insured or in the preservation of the thing that is insured)

right ((frequently plural) the interest possessed by law or custom in some intangible thing)

reversion ((law) an interest in an estate that reverts to the grantor (or his heirs) at the end of some period (e.g., the death of the grantee))

equity (the ownership interest of shareholders in a corporation)

fee (an interest in land capable of being inherited)

undivided interest; undivided right (the interest in property owned by tenants whereby each tenant has an equal right to enjoy the entire property)

terminable interest (an interest in property that terminates under specific conditions)

security interest (any interest in a property that secures the payment of an obligation)

vested interest ((law) an interest in which there is a fixed right to present or future enjoyment and that can be conveyed to another)

controlling interest (ownership of more than 50% of a corporation's voting shares)

grubstake (funds advanced to a prospector or to someone starting a business in return for a share of the profits)

Sense 6

Meaning:

(usually plural) a social group whose members control some field of activity and who have common aims

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

interest; interest group

Context example:

the iron interests stepped up production

Hypernyms ("interest" is a kind of...):

social group (people sharing some social relation)

Domain usage:

plural; plural form (the form of a word that is used to denote more than one)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "interest"):

advocacy group; lobby; lobby group; pressure group; special-interest group; special interest; special interest group; third house (an interest group that tries to influence legislators or bureaucrats to act in their favor, typically through lobbying)

vested interest (groups that seek to control a social system or activity from which they derive private benefit)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A diversion that occupies one's time and thoughts (usually pleasantly)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

interest; pastime; pursuit

Context example:

they criticized the boy for his limited pursuits

Hypernyms ("interest" is a kind of...):

diversion; recreation (an activity that diverts or amuses or stimulates)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "interest"):

avocation; by-line; hobby; pursuit; sideline; spare-time activity (an auxiliary activity)

• INTEREST (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Excite the curiosity of; engage the interest of

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Hypernyms (to "interest" is one way to...):

arouse; elicit; enkindle; evoke; fire; kindle; provoke; raise (call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "interest"):

absorb; engage; engross; occupy (consume all of one's attention or time)

fascinate; grip; spellbind; transfix (to render motionless, as with a fixed stare or by arousing terror or awe)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Antonym:

bore (cause to be bored)

Derivation:

interest (the power of attracting or holding one's attention (because it is unusual or exciting etc.))

interest (a sense of concern with and curiosity about someone or something)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be on the mind of

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

concern; interest; occupy; worry

Context example:

I worry about the second Germanic consonant shift

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The bad news will interest him

Derivation:

interest (a sense of concern with and curiosity about someone or something)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Be of importance or consequence

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

interest; matter to

Context example:

This matters to me!

Hypernyms (to "interest" is one way to...):

bear on; come to; concern; have to do with; pertain; refer; relate; touch; touch on (be relevant to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "interest"):

fascinate; intrigue (cause to be interested or curious)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

interest (the power of attracting or holding one's attention (because it is unusual or exciting etc.))

 Context examples 

Yet he never turned his head, plodding straight onward, slowly and methodically, as though possessed of no interest in what was occurring behind his back.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

I walked round it and examined it closely from every point of view, but without noting anything else of interest.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

We had no other interest than Wolf Larsen, and his presence weighed us down with an apprehension which prevented us from doing any of the little things we had planned.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Zoöphagous patient still keeps up our interest in him.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

You fill me with interest, I perceive that the ground has been trampled up a good deal.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The case certainly presents more features of interest and more possibility of development than I had originally thought.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"I never had such a fine bouquet before! How pretty it is!" And Meg examined her flowers with great interest.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

It was not, however, until he sketched the mysteries of the central lake that the full interest and enthusiasm of the audience were aroused.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Never mind, Mr. Rochester: it is in no way interesting to you to know that.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

My family are of opinion, that, with a little interest, something might be done for a man of his ability in the Custom House.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)