Meaning & use
capital sum
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Meanings
nouncountablefinanceBritish
A single large amount of money, as opposed to regular smaller payments or interest.
Grammar: Countable: pay a capital sum, receive a capital sum.
Patterns
- a capital sum of something
- pay a capital sum
She chose to take a capital sum when she retired rather than a monthly pension.
The policy pays a capital sum if the holder is seriously injured.
He paid a capital sum to buy the lease.
nouncountablefinance
The original amount of money borrowed or invested, not counting interest added later.
Grammar: Usually singular with the: the capital sum remained unchanged.
Patterns
- repay the capital sum
Monthly payments cover interest, so the capital sum stays the same.
At the end of the term, the borrower repays the capital sum.
Interest was calculated on the capital sum only.
Word forms
| plural | capital sums |
|---|
Common combinations
- a lump capital sum
- The scheme pays a lump capital sum at age sixty.
- repay the capital sum
- The loan lets you repay the capital sum at the end.
- capital sum payment
- The capital sum payment arrived in March.
- invest a capital sum
- They invested a capital sum in a flat.
- take a capital sum
- Many retirees take a capital sum instead of an income.
Synonyms and how they differ
- lump sum
- It is the common everyday term for a single large payment, while capital sum is more formal and technical.
- principal
- It means the original amount lent or invested and is the standard word in loans.
- nest egg
- It is informal and describes savings for the future in general, not a specific amount.
Opposites
Word family
- capital noun
- money available for investing or starting a business
- capitalize verb
- to provide money for a business
- sum noun
- an amount of money
Commonly confused: capital sum or capital gain?
capital sum vs capital gain
A profit from selling an asset for more than its cost, which is different from a capital sum, an amount of money.
Practice
Rather than a yearly income, the retiree took a one-off ___ of fifty thousand pounds.
Choose one answer.
A capital sum is a single large amount of money. Interest rates and tax codes are not amounts paid, and a monthly payment is not one-off.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “capital sum”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.