assets

[ as-ets ]

plural noun

1. Finance. items or resources owned by a person, business, or government, as cash, notes and accounts receivable, securities, inventories, goodwill, fixtures, machinery, or real estate ( liabilities ):

   Infrastructure assets, such as telecommunications systems, are not as available or as reliable in developing countries.

   Depreciation applies only to tangible assets, which are the assets that exist in physical form, like vehicles, computers, etc.

2. Accounting. the items detailed on a balance sheet, especially in relation to liabilities and capital:

   The balance sheet lists assets and liabilities in order of liquidity; in other words, the assets most easily converted to cash are listed first.

3. Law. all property available for the payment of debts for a bankrupt or insolvent business or person, or the payment of legacies or debts for a deceased person:

   It is the job of the receiver to sell your assets and distribute the proceeds to your creditors.

4. Informal. parts of a person’s body seen as sexual or attractive, especially a woman’s breasts or buttocks:

   That slinky, shiny outfit really shows off her assets.

assets

/ ˈæsɛts /

plural noun

1. accounting the property and claims against debtors that a business enterprise may apply to discharge its liabilities. Assets may be fixed, current, liquid, or intangible and are shown balanced against liabilities Compare liabilities
2. law the property available to an executor or administrator for settlement of the debts and payment of legacies of the estate of a deceased or insolvent person
3. any property owned by a person or firm

Word History and Origins

Origin of assets¹

First recorded in 1300–50, for a previous sense; in phrase have assets “have enough (to pay obligations)”; asset ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of assets¹

C16 (in the sense: enough to discharge one's liabilities): via Anglo-French from Old French asez enough, from Vulgar Latin ad satis (unattested), from Latin ad up to + satis enough

Example Sentences

The Sandy Hook lawsuit drove Jones to bankruptcy, and a Houston judge ruled that Infowars and other assets owned by Jones could be auctioned off to pay off his creditors.

From Salon

While UK pension schemes tend to invest more in assets like equities and bonds, their Canadian rivals focus more on private markets.

From BBC

The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, for example, only has 7% of its assets in listed equities, compared with 60% for traditional pension funds.

From BBC

Tracy Blackwell, chief executive of Pension Insurance Corporation, told the BBC: "I think by having the scale and the right expertise internally to invest in a wide range of assets, they'll be able to invest in a lot more than what they can invest in now."

From BBC

Between them, they have 6.5 million members and manage assets worth £354bn.

From BBC