equity

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   Fair treatment of people that takes their different circumstances and needs into account, so that outcomes are just.

   Grammar: Used without 'a' or a plural: the school aims for equity in funding.

   Patterns

   • equity in something
   • equity between groups

   The city promised greater equity in how it distributes park funding.

   Equity means giving each student the support they actually need.

   Many employees demanded pay equity between departments.

2. 2noununcountablefinance

   The value of what an owner holds in a property or business once everything owed on it has been subtracted.

   Grammar: Used without 'a': she has equity in the house, meaning part of its value is hers.

   Patterns

   • equity in something
   • build equity

   After ten years of payments, they had built up a lot of equity in their home.

   The mortgage was larger than the house's value, so there was no equity left.

   He used the equity in his flat to fund a small business.

3. 3nouncountable or uncountablefinance

   A share in the ownership of a company, usually held as stock.

   Grammar: Often plural when meaning shares: she invests in equities; the uncountable form means ownership generally.

   Patterns

   • equity in a company
   • invest in equities

   Investors shifted money from bonds into equities.

   The founders kept a large share of equity in the startup.

   She prefers private equity to government bonds.

Word forms

Common combinations

home equity

They borrowed against their home equity to pay for repairs.

gender equity

The league has invested in gender equity programs.

private equity

A private equity firm bought the retailer.

racial equity

The report focuses on racial equity in healthcare.

equity and inclusion

The company created a team for equity and inclusion.

build equity

Paying extra each month helps you build equity faster.

Synonyms and how they differ

fairness

Fairness is the everyday word for just treatment, while equity is more formal and focuses on adjusting for different needs.

justice

Justice is broader and often tied to laws and punishment, whereas equity is about fair distribution of resources and opportunity.

impartiality

Impartiality means not taking sides, but equity goes further and aims to correct unfair differences.

stake

In business, stake is a looser word for any interest in something, while equity is a precise financial ownership share.

Opposites

Word family

equitable adjective

fair and reasonable to everyone involved

equitably adverb

in a fair way

inequity noun

unfairness in how people are treated

equal adjective

the same in amount, value, or status

Commonly confused: equity or equality?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “equity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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