Meaning & use
time deposit
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Meanings
nouncountablefinance
Money placed in a bank for a fixed period, with a penalty if it is taken out early, in return for a set rate of interest.
Grammar: Countable: she opened a time deposit; there are several time deposits at this bank.
Patterns
- a time deposit with someone
- a time deposit of something
She put her bonus into a one-year time deposit at a higher rate.
A time deposit locks your money away until the agreed date.
He chose a time deposit instead of a regular savings account.
nouncountable or uncountablefinancetechnical
The type of bank account or arrangement under which funds are held for an agreed term rather than being available on demand.
Grammar: Often used in a general way: banks hold time deposit funds, in contrast with demand deposits.
Patterns
- time deposit account
Banks rely on time deposit funds because they can plan how long they will hold them.
Economists separate money in time deposit accounts from money in checking accounts.
The report shows a rise in time deposit balances this quarter.
Word forms
| plural | time deposits |
|---|
Common combinations
- open a time deposit
- She opened a time deposit at her local bank.
- break a time deposit
- Breaking a time deposit early costs you some of the interest.
- time deposit rate
- The time deposit rate rose after the central bank's decision.
- six-month time deposit
- A six-month time deposit paid slightly more than savings.
- time deposit account
- He moved his savings into a time deposit account.
Synonyms and how they differ
- term deposit
- Term deposit is the usual British and Australian wording, whereas time deposit is more common in American and Asian English.
- fixed deposit
- Fixed deposit is common in India and several other countries, but it describes the same locked-in savings product.
- certificate of deposit
- A certificate of deposit is the American name for a document-backed time deposit and is often called a CD.
Opposites
Word family
- deposit noun
- money placed in a bank account
- deposit verb
- to put money into an account
- depositor noun
- a person who puts money in a bank
- withdrawal noun
- taking money out of an account
Commonly confused: time deposit or demand deposit? time deposit or security deposit?
time deposit vs demand deposit
A demand deposit, such as a checking account, can be taken out any time; a time deposit is locked for a fixed period.
time deposit vs security deposit
A security deposit is paid to a landlord and returned later, not a savings product that earns interest.
Practice
Maria did not need her savings for a year, so she put them in a ___ to earn a higher interest rate.
Choose one answer.
A time deposit locks money for a fixed term in return for better interest. A checking account allows free withdrawals and pays little, while a security deposit and a credit card are unrelated.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “time deposit”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.