asset

[ as-et ]

noun

1. a useful and desirable thing or quality:

   Organizational ability is an asset.

2. a single item of ownership having exchange value:

   Our summer home is an asset we're not willing to sell.

3. Digital Technology. one of the media components that, taken together, comprise all of the elements of a video game, such as the environments, objects, character art and animation, and sound design:

   All of the game assets are downloaded to your hard drive during the install, so slow load times are local and indicate a problem with your drive.

4. (in intelligence and information gathering) a person followed or spied upon to obtain information, who may be consenting, forced, or unaware of being used: Compare confidential informant ( def ).

   They threatened to release a catalog of virtually every CIA asset within the Soviet Union.

5. Military. a physical resource, such as a piece of equipment, vehicle, or building.
6. assets. assets ( def ).

asset

/ ˈæsɛt /

noun

1. anything valuable or useful See also assets

   experience is their main asset

asset

1. A possession that can be turned into cash to cover liabilities .

Notes

Commonly, the term denotes anything of value.

Other Words From

• as·set·less adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of asset¹

First recorded in 1525–35; back formation from assets, in phrase have assets, literally, “have enough (to pay obligations),” from Anglo-French, Old French asez “enough,” from unattested Vulgar Latin ad satis “to sufficiency”; assai ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of asset¹

C19: back formation from assets

Example Sentences

But his most important asset might be his high hockey IQ, which might be expected from a guy who played two seasons at Harvard.

From Los Angeles Times

Previous motel conversions have remained public assets, he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Talking to farmers, very quickly our conversation would often involve very big numbers - talk of assets running into a few million pounds.

From BBC

Martinak suggests shoring up emergency funds and diversifying investments across different asset classes to mitigate risk.

From Salon

"Farmers can be asset rich, but cash poor," she told the BBC's Today Programme.

From BBC

Related Words

• aid
• benefit
• credit
• resource
• service