Meaning & use
an intangible asset
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablebusinessfinancetechnical
Something valuable that a company owns but that has no physical form, such as a brand name, patent, or software.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'an intangible asset', 'intangible assets', or 'the value of the intangible asset'.
Patterns
- an intangible asset such as something
- the value of an intangible asset
- intangible assets
The company's most valuable intangible asset is its brand name.
Patents and trademarks are examples of intangible assets.
Investors are paying more attention to intangible assets like data and software.
Word forms
| plural | intangible assets |
|---|
Common combinations
- intangible asset value
- The intangible asset value of the company rose after the merger.
- a valuable intangible asset
- Customer trust is a valuable intangible asset.
- intangible assets such as
- Intangible assets such as copyrights can be difficult to value.
Synonyms and how they differ
- intellectual property
- A type of intangible asset that includes patents, trademarks, and copyrights; not all intangible assets are intellectual property.
- goodwill
- An accounting term for the extra value of a business beyond its physical assets, often treated as an intangible asset.
Opposites
Word family
- intangible adjective
- Not able to be touched or physically felt.
- asset noun
- Something valuable that a person or company owns.
Commonly confused: an intangible asset or tangible asset?
an intangible asset vs tangible asset
A tangible asset is physical, like a building or machine; an intangible asset has no physical form, like a patent or brand.
Practice
Which of these is an example of an intangible asset?
Choose one answer.
A trademark is an intangible asset because it has no physical form. A delivery van, warehouse, and laptop are all tangible assets because they are physical objects.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “an intangible asset”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.