Meaning & use
plus value
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountablebusinessfinancespecialist
The extra money something is worth beyond what it originally cost or beyond its official recorded value.
Grammar: Often used in the plural 'plus values' when talking about several items; in economics it is usually uncountable.
Patterns
- a plus value on something
- realize a plus value
- the plus value of something
The company recorded a plus value of two million dollars when it sold the building.
Investors hope the shares will show a plus value after the merger.
Any plus value on the land will be taxed at the standard rate.
noununcountablespecialisttechnical
In Marxist economics, the extra value workers create that the owner of a business keeps as profit.
Grammar: Used as an uncountable noun in this technical sense; it usually appears with 'the'.
Patterns
- the production of plus value
- extract plus value from someone
The lecture explained how plus value is produced when workers are paid less than the value they create.
In his analysis, plus value is the source of the owner's profit.
Common combinations
- a plus value on an asset
- The auditor noted a plus value on the asset after the revaluation.
- realize a plus value
- They realized a plus value when the property was finally sold.
- show a plus value
- The portfolio showed a plus value at the end of the year.
- tax on plus value
- Some countries charge a tax on plus value from land sales.
Synonyms and how they differ
- capital gain
- This is the everyday business term for profit made when selling an asset, while 'plus value' is more technical or translated from French.
- appreciation
- This refers to an increase in value over time rather than the profit actually made on a sale.
- surplus value
- This is the more usual English form of the Marxist term; 'plus value' is a direct translation.
Opposites
Word family
- value noun
- The amount of money something is worth.
- valuation noun
- An official judgment of how much something is worth.
- revaluation noun
- A new, usually higher, official value given to something.
Commonly confused: plus value or surplus value?
plus value vs surplus value
In English economics writing, 'surplus value' is the standard term for the Marxist idea; 'plus value' is a literal translation and may sound unfamiliar to English readers.
Practice
The accountant reported a plus value of $50,000 after the factory was sold. What does 'plus value' mean here?
Choose one answer.
'Plus value' means the amount gained above the original cost, so option 1 fits. Option 3 is wrong because it describes the whole price, not the gain, and option 4 confuses the gain with the tax on it.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “plus value”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.