working capital

noun

1. the amount of capital needed to carry on a business.
2. Accounting. current assets minus current liabilities.
3. liquid capital assets as distinguished from fixed capital assets.

working capital

noun

1. accounting current assets minus current liabilities
2. current or liquid assets
3. that part of the capital of a business enterprise available for operations

Word History and Origins

Origin of working capital¹

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Blodget reported that Groupon had “negative working capital,” meaning it owed more in bills than it had in cash.

From The Daily Beast

The stock issued shall represent the actual cash expended upon the plant, and employed as a working capital.

From Project Gutenberg

Besides, whale-boats were not cheap in the Solomons; and, also, the deaths were daily reducing the working capital.

From Project Gutenberg

Another important thing: there must be a large working capital, for the company do not mean to be idle.

From Project Gutenberg

In fact, these tendencies should be the working capital of the teacher, the starting points in her teaching.

From Project Gutenberg

At last people began to understand that Knut had brought to Tingvold what no one had had there before, working capital!

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• venture capital