Meaning & use
intangible asset
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountablebusinessfinance
Something valuable that a company owns but cannot touch, such as a brand name, patent, or customer list.
Grammar: Countable: an intangible asset, several intangible assets.
Patterns
- an intangible asset such as something
- value an intangible asset
- write off an intangible asset
The company's most valuable intangible asset is its brand name.
Patents and trademarks are examples of intangible assets.
Accountants must decide how to value each intangible asset on the balance sheet.
nouncountablefigurative
A useful quality or advantage that is not physical, such as a good reputation or strong skills.
Grammar: Used figuratively outside business for personal or social advantages.
Patterns
- something is an intangible asset for someone
- an intangible asset in a job
Her calm manner is an intangible asset when the team faces a crisis.
A good local reputation can be an intangible asset for a small shop.
Word forms
| plural | intangible assets |
|---|
Common combinations
- value an intangible asset
- It is hard to value an intangible asset like a loyal customer base.
- identify intangible assets
- The buyer tried to identify every intangible asset before making an offer.
- intangible asset such as a patent
- An intangible asset such as a patent can be sold or licensed.
- write off an intangible asset
- The firm had to write off an intangible asset that had lost all its value.
- a valuable intangible asset
- Their software code is a valuable intangible asset.
Synonyms and how they differ
- intangible
- A short form used in accounting when the context already makes it clear; it can also be an adjective.
- intellectual property
- A narrower legal term for creations of the mind such as patents and copyrights, which are only some intangible assets.
Opposites
Word family
- intangible adjective
- Not able to be touched or easily measured.
- tangibly adverb
- In a way that can be clearly seen or felt.
- asset noun
- Anything of value that a person or company owns.
Commonly confused: intangible asset or tangible asset? intangible asset or fixed asset?
intangible asset vs tangible asset
A tangible asset is physical, like machinery or buildings; an intangible asset has value but no physical form.
intangible asset vs fixed asset
A fixed asset is a long-term physical item used in the business; it is a different accounting category from an intangible asset.
Practice
Which of these is the best example of an intangible asset?
Choose one answer.
A trademark has value but no physical form, so it is an intangible asset. The van, the cash, and the warehouse are all tangible assets because they can be seen and touched.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “intangible asset”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.