Investment

[in-vest-muh nt] /ɪnˈvɛst mənt/

noun
1.
the of money or capital in order to gain profitable returns, as interest, income, or appreciation in value.
2.
a particular instance or mode of .
3.
a thing in, as a business, a quantity of shares of stock, etc.
4.
something that is ; sum .
5.
the act or fact of or state of being , as with a garment.
6.
a devoting, using, or giving of time, talent, emotional energy, etc., as for a purpose or to achieve something:
His investment in the project included more time than he cared to remember.
7.
Biology. any covering, coating, outer layer, or integument, as of an animal or vegetable.
8.
the act of with a quality, attribute, etc.
9.
investiture with an office, dignity, or right.
10.
a siege or blockade; the surrounding of a place with military forces or works, as in besieging.
11.
Also called investment compound. Metallurgy. a refractory material applied in a plastic state to a pattern to make a mold.
12.
Archaic. a garment or vestment.
/ɪnˈvɛstmənt/
noun
1.

2.

3.
(economics) the amount by which the stock of capital (plant, machinery, materials, etc) in an enterprise or economy changes
4.
(biology) the outer layer or covering of an organ, part, or organism
5.
a less common word for investiture (sense 1)
6.
the act of investing or state of being invested, as with an official robe, a specific quality, etc
7.
(rare) the act of besieging with military forces, works, etc
n.

1590s, “act of putting on vestments” (a sense now found in investiture); later “act of being invested with an office, right, endowment, etc.” (1640s); and “surrounding and besieging of a military target” (1811); see invest + -ment. Commercial sense is from 1610s, originally of the finances of the East India Company; general use is from 1740 in the sense of “conversion of money to property in hopes of profit,” and by 1837 in the sense “amount of money so invested; property viewed as a vehicle for profit.” For evolution of commercial senses, see invest.

The purchase of property with the expectation that its value will increase over time.