noun · neutral
interest
/ˈɪntrəst/IN·ter·est
money paid regularly by a borrower to a lender for the use of borrowed money; the percentage charged; attention or concern (different meaning)
Examples
“The bank pays interest on savings accounts.”
“The loan has an annual interest rate of 5%.”
“He's never shown much interest in fashion.”
Band 8 sentence
“Because savings accounts currently earn very little interest, many people put their money into low-risk investments instead.”
Collocations
- interest rate
- pay interest
- earn interest
Word family
Common mistakes
The bank pays me many interests every year.→The bank pays me interest every year.
What is the interest of this loan?→What is the interest rate of this loan?
Say it for a higher band
5extra→6charge→7+interest
Synonyms
return
Easily confused
rate
“The interest rate on the mortgage is 3.5%.”
return
“The return on my investment was higher than expected.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In Shopping & Money
Learn it with its set