Meaning & use
incentive
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Meanings
nouncountable
Something, such as a reward or a benefit, that gives people a reason to do something or to work harder.
Grammar: Usually countable: a tax incentive, several incentives. Often followed by to plus a verb: an incentive to save.
Patterns
- an incentive to do something
- an incentive for someone
- offer someone an incentive
The shop offers a discount as an incentive to sign up for the newsletter.
Higher pay gave the workers an incentive to finish early.
Without any incentive, few people bothered to recycle.
adjectivebefore a nounbusiness
Meant to encourage people to act, as in a scheme that offers rewards for achieving goals.
Grammar: Only used before a noun: an incentive scheme, never the scheme is incentive.
Patterns
- an incentive scheme
- an incentive program
The firm runs an incentive scheme for its sales team.
An incentive program rewarded staff who reduced waste.
She received an incentive payment for hitting her target.
Word forms
| plural | incentives |
|---|
Common combinations
- financial incentive
- A financial incentive persuaded more people to switch to solar power.
- tax incentive
- The city gave builders a tax incentive to include affordable homes.
- provide an incentive
- Free lunches provide an incentive to attend the training.
- strong incentive
- Rising bills are a strong incentive to cut energy use.
- lack of incentive
- A lack of incentive explains why the project stalled.
- incentive to work
- Bonuses are meant as an incentive to work harder.
Synonyms and how they differ
- motivation
- Motivation is the inner or general reason to act, while an incentive is an outside reward or benefit that is offered.
- inducement
- Inducement is more formal and can imply a slightly improper push, whereas incentive is neutral and positive.
- stimulus
- Stimulus is a broader word for anything that triggers a reaction or growth, not just a reward.
- bonus
- A bonus is a specific extra payment, while an incentive is the wider idea of anything that encourages action.
Opposites
Word family
- incentivize verb
- to give an incentive to someone
- disincentive noun
- something that discourages action
- incentivized adjective
- encouraged by rewards
Commonly confused: incentive or incentive?
incentive vs incentive
Do not mix it up with 'incidental', which means minor or happening by chance; an incentive is a deliberate reason to act.
Practice
The government introduced a tax break as an ___ for companies to hire young people.
Choose one answer.
An incentive is a benefit that encourages action, which a tax break does. A penalty or obstacle would discourage hiring instead.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “incentive”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.