interest

American  

[in-ter-ist, -trist] / ˈɪn tər ɪst, -trɪst /

noun

• interests
  plural

1. the feeling of a person whose attention, concern, or curiosity is particularly engaged by something.

   She has a great interest in the poetry of Donne.

2. something that concerns, involves, draws the attention of, or arouses the curiosity of a person.

   His interests are philosophy and chess.

3. power of exciting such concern, involvement, etc.; quality of being interesting.

   political issues of great interest.

4. concern; importance.

   a matter of primary interest.

5. a business, cause, or the like in which a person has a share, concern, responsibility, etc.

6. a share, right, or title in the ownership of property, in a commercial or financial undertaking, or the like.

   He bought half an interest in the store.

7. a participation in or concern for a cause, advantage, responsibility, etc.

8. a number or group of persons, or a party, financially interested in the same business, industry, or enterprise.

   the banking interest.

9. interests, the group of persons or organizations having extensive financial or business power.

10. the state of being affected by something in respect to advantage or detriment.

    We need an arbiter who is without interest in the outcome.

11. benefit; advantage.

    to have one's own interest in mind.

12. regard for one's own advantage or profit; self-interest.

    The partnership dissolved because of their conflicting interests.

13. influence from personal importance or capability; power of influencing the action of others.

14. Finance.

    1. a sum paid or charged for the use of money or for borrowing money.

       If I won the lottery, I would invest the money, quit working and live off the interest.

    2. interest rate.

15. something added or thrown in above an exact equivalent.

    Jones paid him back with a left hook and added a right uppercut for interest.

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verb (used with object)

• interests,
  present (3rd person singular)
• interested,
  past participle,  past
• interesting
  present participle

1. to engage or excite the attention or curiosity of.

   Mystery stories interested him greatly.

2. to concern (a person, nation, etc.) in something; involve.

   The fight for peace interests all nations.

3. to cause to take a personal concern or share; induce to participate.

   to interest a person in an enterprise.

4. to cause to be concerned; affect.

idioms

1. in the interest(s) of, to the advantage or advancement of; in behalf of.

   in the interests of good government.

interest British  

/ ˈɪntrɪst, -tərɪst /

noun

1. the sense of curiosity about or concern with something or someone

   an interest in butterflies

2. the power of stimulating such a sense

   to have great interest

3. the quality of such stimulation

4. something in which one is interested; a hobby or pursuit

5. (often plural) benefit; advantage

   in one's own interest

6. (often plural)

   1. a right, share, or claim, esp in a business or property

   2. the business, property, etc, in which a person has such concern

7. 1. a charge for the use of credit or borrowed money

   2. such a charge expressed as a percentage per time unit of the sum borrowed or used

8. (often plural) a section of a community, etc, whose members have common aims

   we must not offend the landed interest

9. to make known one's connection, esp a prejudicial connection, with an affair

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verb

1. to arouse or excite the curiosity or concern of

2. to cause to become involved in something; concern

interest Cultural  

1. The charge for borrowing money or the return for lending it.

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interest More Idioms  

1. see in one's interest; take an interest; vested interest; with interest.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overinterest
  noun
• preinterest
  noun
• reinterest
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• interests
  plural

Participles

• interesting
  present
• interested
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• interest
  simple
• interests
  simple
• have interested
  perfect
• has interested
  perfect
• am interesting
  progressive
• are interesting
  progressive
• is interesting
  progressive
• have been interesting
  perfect progressive
• has been interesting
  perfect progressive

Past

• interested
  simple
• had interested
  perfect
• was interesting
  progressive
• were interesting
  progressive
• had been interesting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will interest
  simple
• will have interested
  perfect
• will be interesting
  progressive
• will have been interesting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of interest

First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English noun interest, intrest, entrest “legal claim or right,” from Medieval Latin, Latin interest “it concerns,” literally, “it is between,” replacing the Medieval Latin infinitive interesse, used as a noun, from Latin; see inter-, esse

Explanation

Interest is used most often to describe something you like, enjoy or think useful. You might have an interest in African literature, or you might follow the news with interest. Although interest is used mainly to describe anything that is, well, interesting, it also is used in specific legal contexts. If you have an interest in a company, it means you own part of it. Interest is also the word used to describe money charged or given as part of a debt. If a bank loans you $10,000, you have to pay back the $10,000 plus the interest. If the interest rate is 5 percent annually, you would owe $500.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

interest interests interested interesting

Investors now see a 60% chance that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this month, up from 52% before the jobs report was released.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

The six-week trial in Massachusetts captured significant public interest, with crowds sometimes gathering outside.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

McVay said Friday that the postgame review will be “circumstantial based on what happens,” and that the Rams make decisions based on what they feel is in the best interest of the players.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

Right now, Wall Street expects the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates three times over the next year, starting this month.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026

And that would only happen if he met her gaze for long enough, and with just enough interest.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

It’s up to legislators to solve problems in a way that serves society’s interests, including protecting both our children and American innovation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

Meanwhile, the food industry has tried to keep up with consumers’ interests in things like protein and fiber, as wellness trends and increased GLP-1 use reshape diets.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026

Wong has continued seeking out new interests while in prison, including learning how to play the guitar and working out.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

Yet her wide genre interests brought her back to her roots in 2002’s “Belly of the Sun,” with songs by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Jimmy Webb and Robbie Robertson, and into hip-hop on 2006’s sample-heavy “Thunderbird.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

The fourth was a gesture toward the northern interests, authorizing Congress to levy a tax on slave imports designed to discourage the practice without prohibiting it.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

The researchers are particularly interested in whether breathing techniques could influence food-related decisions, since eating behavior is strongly affected by both reward processing and a person's physical state.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026

Liu said she’s seeing that anxiety play out at demonstration events where some of the young people she’s trying to inspire are more interested in tricking the machines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

Andrew Franks, who the court heard opened the synagogue compound gates to Al-Shamie, was also given interested person status, but the coroner said this did not imply any "criticism or culpability" on his behalf.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

Over the years, Anaheim had considered a variety of opportunities for the site: An NFL stadium, but the NFL wasn’t interested.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

Honestly, I wasn’t all that interested in the Spirit of the Sea when Eddie pitched the project idea to me, but knowing that lots of other people are fascinated changes things a little bit.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

“Transparency is a very interesting word,” the governor told the Times.

From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026

But it will be interesting to see what they’re able to do with a bigger backing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

Decentralizing artificial intelligence "is much more interesting for society and for humanity in general," Wolf told AFP in 2024.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

It is an interesting idea that it will be interesting to keep an eye on – both today and over the coming months and years.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

There was interesting stuff on the top, sometimes.

From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry

Related Words

• affect
• amuse
• appeal to
• attract
• concern
• engage
• engross
• entertain
• excite
• fascinate
• intrigue
• involve
• please
• tempt