Meaning & use
wealth
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Meanings
noununcountable
A large amount of money, property or valuable things owned by a person, family or country.
Grammar: Uncountable: great wealth.
Patterns
- the wealth of someone
The family's wealth came from shipping.
He has accumulated great wealth over the years.
The gap between wealth and poverty has grown.
nounsingular
A large quantity of something good, such as knowledge or experience.
Grammar: Almost always in the phrase a wealth of: a wealth of ideas.
Patterns
- a wealth of something
The library holds a wealth of information.
She brings a wealth of experience to the job.
The region offers a wealth of hiking trails.
Common combinations
- a wealth of
- The museum has a wealth of ancient art.
- accumulate wealth
- He accumulated wealth through smart investments.
- distribution of wealth
- The debate focused on the distribution of wealth.
- great wealth
- She inherited great wealth.
- inherited wealth
- Inherited wealth gave him a head start.
- national wealth
- Oil is a main source of national wealth.
Synonyms and how they differ
- riches
- Riches is a more old-fashioned or poetic word for wealth and often means actual treasure.
- fortune
- Fortune suggests a specific, very large sum, whereas wealth is general.
- affluence
- Affluence stresses a comfortable lifestyle that wealth allows.
- abundance
- Abundance is about large quantity of anything, not just money.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: wealth or health?
wealth vs health
Health is about physical well-being, while wealth is about money and possessions.
Practice
The old farmhouse holds a ___ of historical documents.
Choose one answer.
A wealth of means a large amount of something good. Health and width do not fit that phrase, and stock does not take of in this way for documents.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wealth”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.