Meaning & use
finance
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To supply the money needed for something, often by lending or investing it.
Grammar: Takes an object naming what is paid for: finance a project, finance a purchase.
Patterns
- finance something
- finance something with something
The bank agreed to finance the new bakery.
She financed her studies with part-time jobs.
The city plans to finance the bridge by selling bonds.
noununcountablebusiness
The management of money, including saving, lending, investing and banking.
Grammar: Uncountable: She works in finance. Not a finance.
Patterns
- work in finance
- the world of finance
He studied finance at university.
She has a career in corporate finance.
Understanding personal finance helps people save.
nounusually plural
The money that a person, company or government has and can spend.
Grammar: Usually plural: personal finances, the city's finances.
Patterns
- manage someone's finances
- public finances
The couple sat down to review their finances.
The city's finances were in poor shape.
We checked the finances before buying a house.
noununcountablebusiness
Money lent or provided to pay for something.
Grammar: Often with a modifier: raise finance, car finance.
Patterns
- raise finance
- finance for something
The start-up struggled to raise finance.
Many dealers offer car finance at low rates.
The project's finance came from private investors.
Word forms
| third person singular | finances |
|---|---|
| past tense | financed |
| -ing form | financing |
| plural noun | finances |
Common combinations
- finance a project
- The foundation will finance the project for two years.
- personal finance
- Learning personal finance early can prevent debt.
- raise finance
- The theater needed to raise finance for repairs.
- public finances
- Rising costs have strained public finances.
- finance department
- Send the invoice to the finance department.
- finance a purchase
- Many people finance a purchase with a loan.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fund
- Fund is very close but suggests providing money for a specific purpose or cause, often as a gift or grant, while finance often involves a loan.
- back
- Back is informal and means supporting a person or plan with money, and it also suggests general support.
- bankroll
- Bankroll is informal and often implies one rich person paying for someone else's plan.
- sponsor
- Sponsor means paying in exchange for publicity or association, whereas finance means just supplying money.
Word family
- financial adjective
- relating to money and its management
- financially adverb
- in a way that relates to money
- financier noun
- a person who manages large sums of money or investments
- financing noun
- the provision of money for something
- refinance verb
- to replace a loan with a new one on different terms
Commonly confused: finance or fiancé? finance or fund?
finance vs fiancé
A fiancé is a man engaged to be married, and it looks similar but has a different pronunciation and meaning.
finance vs fund
As a verb, fund suggests money given for a purpose, while finance often includes borrowing and lending.
Practice
Which sentence uses finance as a verb?
Choose one answer.
In the second sentence, finance is an action with an object, the new store. In the other sentences it is a noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “finance”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.