interest
12 ENTRIES FOUND:
plural
interests
plural
interests
Britannica Dictionary definition of INTEREST
1
a
:
a feeling of wanting to learn more about something or to be involved in something
[noncount]
-
She told us about her lifelong interest in music.
-
I have no interest in politics. [=I am not interested in politics]
-
The kids listened to the speaker for a little while, but then lost interest.
-
The speaker wasn't able to hold/keep their interest.
-
I've been following his career with (great) interest.
[singular]
-
She took/had an active interest in the political debate.
-
He expressed/showed an interest in learning more about photography.
b
[noncount]
:
a quality that attracts your attention and makes you want to learn more about something or to be involved in something
-
The stories about his personal life add interest to the book.
-
He looked through the available magazines, but found nothing of interest. [=nothing interesting]
-
I thought this article might be of interest to you.
-
We visited many places of interest on our vacation.
-
The price of the ticket was a matter of interest to everyone.
-
a story that has human interest = a human-interest story [=a story that is interesting because it involves the experiences of real people]
2
[count]
:
something (such as a hobby) that a person enjoys learning about or doing
-
Music is one of her many interests.
-
She has a number of outside interests. [=things that she enjoys doing when she is not working]
3
[count]
— used when discussing what is the best or most helpful thing for someone
-
It's in your (own) interest to keep silent.
-
The judge decided that it would be in the (best) interests of the child to continue living with her mother.
-
If he refuses to cooperate, he'll be acting against his own interests. [=he'll be acting in a way that is harmful to himself]
-
a policy that is not in the national/public interest [=that is more likely to harm than to help the nation/public]
-
The law is intended to protect/safeguard the interests of people who have no health insurance.
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He claims that he has her (best) interests at heart. [=that he is concerned about her and wants to help her]
-
In the interest of [=for the sake of] fairness, we decided to get everyone's opinion before making a decision.
4
[noncount]
a
:
the money paid by a borrower for the use of borrowed money
-
We pay six percent interest on the loan.
-
The loan was repaid with interest.
-
monthly interest payments/charges
-
interest rates
-
an interest-free loan [=a loan that the borrower does not have to pay any interest on]
b
:
money paid to you by a bank for the money you have in a bank account
—
see also compound interest, simple interest
-
He made about $500 in interest last year.
5
[count]
:
a legal share in a business or property
-
They offered to buy out his interest in the company.
6
interests
[plural]
:
a group financially involved in an industry or business
-
This law is opposed by the oil interests.
—
see also special interest
2
interest
/ˈɪntrəst/
verb
interests;
interested;
interesting
2
interest
/ˈɪntrəst/
verb
interests;
interested;
interesting
Britannica Dictionary definition of INTEREST
[+ object]
1
:
to cause (someone) to want to learn more about something or to become involved in something
-
Military history doesn't really interest me.
-
It might interest you to know that the woman in this photograph is your great-grandmother.
-
It interested me to learn that she had once lived in California.
2
:
to persuade (someone) to have, take, or participate in (something)
-
Can I interest you in a game of tennis? [=would you like to play tennis?]
-
Could I interest you in another cup of coffee? [=would you like another cup of coffee?]
-
The salesman tried to interest me in a more expensive computer.
