amortize
Americanverb (used with object)
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Finance.
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to liquidate or extinguish (a mortgage, debt, or other obligation), especially by periodic payments to the creditor or to a sinking fund.
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to write off a cost of (an asset) gradually.
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Old English Law. to convey to a corporation or church group; alienate in mortmain.
verb
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finance to liquidate (a debt, mortgage, etc) by instalment payments or by periodic transfers to a sinking fund
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to write off (a wasting asset) by annual transfers to a sinking fund
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property law (formerly) to transfer (lands, etc) in mortmain
Other Word Forms
- amortizable adjective
- nonamortizable adjective
- unamortized adjective
Etymology
Origin of amortize
1375–1425; Middle English amortisen < Anglo-French, Old French amortiss-, long stem of amortir literally, to kill, die < Vulgar Latin *a ( d ) mortīre (derivative of Latin mors, stem mort- death, with ad- ad- ); -ize later replacing -is ( s )-, probably by association with Anglo-Latin a ( d ) mortizāre
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Warner’s $252-million quarterly loss was a byproduct of a $1.3 billion write-down as Warner continues to amortize restructuring charges stemming from the 2022 merger with Zaslav’s Discovery.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2026
They say we need massive amounts of energy, we need huge amounts of data, we need the smartest kids around, and then we need the scale to amortize the massive investment that we are making.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 21, 2026
And Musk’s 2018 pay award was valued at about $56 billion, or $8 billion a year, if investors amortize it over seven years.
From Barron's • Nov. 7, 2025
"They can run their profit center with combustion engines longer and amortize their investment there," he said.
From Reuters • Jun. 30, 2022
Clearly, Russia is worried about its surplus and wishes to amortize it through enhanced exports.
From Russian Roulette: Russia's Economy in Putin's Era by Vaknin, Samuel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.