Definition

1. Noun:
   • The act of committing resources (money, time, effort) with the expectation of future benefit: The core meaning involves allocating something valuable now to gain a return later. This most commonly refers to money but can also apply to non-financial resources.
   • The money or capital that is committed: The sum of money or assets that are put into a financial venture.
   • (Formal/Historical) The formal ceremony of installing someone in an office or rank; investiture: The act of clothing someone with the official garments or insignia of a position.

Usage and Examples

• Financial Commitment:
  • She made a wise investment in the technology company ten years ago.
  • The government is encouraging foreign investment in renewable energy.
• Commitment of Non-Financial Resources:
  • Learning a language requires a significant investment of time and effort.
  • His emotional investment in the community project was evident to everyone.
• (Formal) Ceremonial Act:
  • The investment of the new bishop was a solemn ceremony.

Advanced Usage

• "Return on Investment (ROI)": A key financial metric used to evaluate the efficiency or profitability of an investment, calculated as (Net Profit / Cost of Investment) x 100.
  • The marketing campaign had a high return on investment.
• "Investment portfolio": A collection of financial investments like stocks, bonds, and cash equivalents held by an individual or institution.
  • He diversified his investment portfolio to manage risk.

Variants and Related Words

• Invest (verb): To commit money or capital to an enterprise with the expectation of profit.
  • They decided to invest their savings in real estate.
• Investor (noun): A person or organization that commits capital with the expectation of financial returns.
  • The investor was pleased with the annual dividends.
• Investiture (noun): The formal ceremony of conferring the authority and symbols of a high office. (This is a synonym for the formal/historical meaning of 'investment').
  • The presidential investiture will be held next week.

Synonyms

• Financial Context: Outlay, stake, capital, funding.
• Non-Financial Context: Commitment, dedication, contribution.
• Ceremonial Context: Installation, inauguration, induction.

Related Phrases and Collocations

• Long-term investment: An asset held for an extended period (typically over a year).
  • Buying a house is considered a long-term investment.
• Investment strategy: A plan to allocate assets to achieve specific financial goals.
  • Their investment strategy focuses on steady growth.
• Sunk cost / Sunk investment: Money that has already been spent and cannot be recovered, which should not factor into future decisions.
  • We shouldn't continue the failing project just because of the sunk investment.

Idioms and Figurative Use

• "An investment in the future": An action taken now that is intended to yield benefits in the long term, often non-financial.
  • Education is the best investment in the future.
• "To pay dividends" (related concept): To yield positive results or benefits, analogous to a financial investment paying returns.
  • His hard work and investment in training finally paid dividends.

Noun

1. the ceremonial act of clothing someone in the insignia of an office; the formal promotion of a person to an office or rank
2. the act of putting on robes or vestments
3. outer layer or covering of an organ or part or organism
4. the commitment of something other than money (time, energy, or effort) to a project with the expectation of some worthwhile result
   • this job calls for the investment of some hard thinking
   • he made an emotional investment in the work
5. money that is invested with an expectation of profit
6. the act of investing; laying out money or capital in an enterprise with the expectation of profit