amortize
verb
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When you amortize a loan, you "kill it off" gradually by paying it down in installments. This is reflected in the word's etymology. Amortize derives via Middle English and Anglo-French from Vulgar Latin admortire, meaning "to kill." The Latin noun mors ("death") is a root of admortire; it is related to our word murder, and it also gave us a word naming a kind of loan that is usually amortized: mortgage. Amortize carries a different meaning in the field of corporate finance, where it means to depreciate the cost or value of an asset (as, for example, to reduce interest revenue on that asset for tax purposes).
Examples of amortize in a Sentence
Bill Stone, Forbes, 2 Nov. 2024
YouTube also offers potential advertising revenue, and profits for shows that are already amortized.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 1 Nov. 2024
The board later voted to call for amortizing the unfunded liability over 20 years.
—Dana Afana, Detroit Free Press, 1 Nov. 2024
Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for Cox Automotive, said car loans are amortized so that each payment covers interest and principal.
—Susan Tompor, USA TODAY, 12 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Amortize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amortize. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
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amortize
transitive verb
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