- the property and claims against debtors that a business enterprise may apply to discharge its liabilities. Assets may be fixed, current, liquid, or intangible and are shown balanced against liabilities
Compare liabilities - the property available to an executor or administrator for settlement of the debts and payment of legacies of the estate of a deceased or insolvent person
- any property owned by a person or firm
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
assets /ˈæsɛts/ pl n
as•set /ˈæsɛt/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- a useful and desirable thing or quality: math skill is an asset in business.
- assets, [plural]
- the total resources of a person or business.
- the items listed on a balance sheet, esp. in relation to liabilities and capital.
- Businessall property available to pay debts.
as•set
(as′et),USA pronunciation n.
as′set•less, adj.
- a useful and desirable thing or quality:Organizational ability is an asset.
- Businessa single item of ownership having exchange value.
- assets:
- items of ownership convertible into cash;
total resources of a person or business, as cash, notes and accounts receivable, securities, inventories, goodwill, fixtures, machinery, or real estate (opposed to liabilities). - [Accountableing.]the items detailed on a balance sheet, esp. in relation to liabilities and capital.
- Businessall property available for the payment of debts, esp. of a bankrupt or insolvent firm or person.
- Lawproperty in the hands of an heir, executor, or administrator, that is sufficient to pay the debts or legacies of a deceased person.
- items of ownership convertible into cash;
- Anglo-French, Old French asez enough. See assai1
- back formation from assets, in phrase have assets, literally, have enough (to pay obligations) 1525–35
'assets' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
abatement
- accounting
- administration order
- asset
- asset-stripping
- asset value
- balance sheet
- billionaire
- book value
- break-up value
- capital
- capital account
- capital assets
- capital expenditure
- capitalize
- chargeable asset
- contributory
- current-cost accounting
- deficit
- disposable
- distribution
- fire sale
- fixed assets
- freeze
- frozen
- historical-cost accounting
- insolvent
- inventory
- kite
- leverage
- leveraged buyout
- liabilities
- liquid
- liquidate
- liquidation
- marketable
- market value
- millionaire
- negotiate
- net asset value
- ordinary shares
- pari passu
- preference shares
- preferred stock
- prenuptial agreement
- receivable
- repurchase
- reserve
- seed corn
- bank statement