dividend
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A cash payment of money by a company to its shareholders, usually made periodically.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
divihdendSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdɪvɪdɛnd
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
finance
A cash payment of money by a company to its shareholders, usually made periodically (e.g., quarterly or annually).
arithmetic
A number or expression that is to be divided by another.
figuratively
Beneficial results from a metaphorical investment (of time, effort, etc.)
verb
transitive
To pay out a dividend.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A cash payment of money by a company to its shareholders, usually made periodically (e.g., quarterly or annually).
Used this way, dividend is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a financial use: it has a settled meaning in accounting and business, where precision matters more than colour.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Finance/economics
- Business/professional
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use dividend
- “The company announced a small dividend for its shareholders.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
An order of payment (such as a check payable to a shareholder) in which a dividend is paid.
A dividend paid to compensate shareholders for losses resulting from a change in the dividend schedule.
A dividend paid in addition to the regular dividend.
A dividend paid in stock rather than in cash.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.