fund

1 of 3

noun

1
a
: a sum of money or other resources whose principal or interest is set apart for a specific objective
b
: money on deposit on which checks or drafts can be drawn
usually used in plural
c
d
funds plural : the stock of the British national debt
usually used with the
2
: an available quantity of material or intangible resources : supply
3
funds plural : available pecuniary resources
4
: an organization administering a special fund

fund

2 of 3

verb

funded; funding; funds

transitive verb

1
a
: to make provision of resources for discharging the interest or principal of
b
: to provide funds for
a federally funded program
2
: to place in a fund : accumulate
3
: to convert into a debt that is payable either at a distant date or at no definite date and that bears a fixed interest
fund a floating debt
funder noun

fund

3 of 3

abbreviation

Examples of fund in a Sentence

Noun The fund was established to aid the poor. All her funds were in a checking account. His funds were getting lower as he continued to look for a job. The comedian had a large fund of jokes. Verb The group funded three new scholarships. Who funds the company pension plan?
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The program, to be administered by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, would also give grants to nonprofit organizations that qualify to assist operators of water systems in accessing funds. Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024 According to the Wisconsin Lottery, the value of unclaimed prizes is credited to the Wisconsin Lottery property tax relief fund. Drew Dawson, Journal Sentinel, 12 Mar. 2024 Voucher funds can be used to pay for classes and extracurricular programs provided by a public school, including sports, according to the parent handbook for the school voucher program. The Arizona Republic, 12 Mar. 2024 The foundation that received the funds is run by none other than the head of Musk’s family office, Jared Birchall, who manages the titan’s personal fortune. Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 11 Mar. 2024 Many inmates receive money from relatives—hawala networks, informal cash-transfer systems, are sometimes allowed to relay funds to prisoners. Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 This comes off the back of a $200 million fund I and a $281 million fund II. Zoya Hasan, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 Finding hundreds of millions of dollars to pay for the bond, without raising taxes, will require the state to trim other programs from the general fund. Taryn Luna, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024 Last year, however, it was revealed that the unspent funds would fall short because of deferred maintenance, which officials had estimated to cost about $150 million. Tammy Murga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Mar. 2024
Verb
Wisconsin law requires employers to pay an unemployment tax that is used to fund benefits for workers who lose their jobs. Todd Richmond, Quartz, 14 Mar. 2024 The way to stop America from funding rich corporations and wealthy individuals and to start really investing in what is good for America is to stop voting Republican. Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2024 TikTok funded the study and collaborated with Oxford Economics by providing information about internal operations such as employee headcount. Taylor Lorenz, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2024 Immediately following the storm, the county on Jan. 30 allocated $10 million to fund relief efforts for residents displaced by the storm, creating a temporary lodging program that launched Feb. 12. Emily Alvarenga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Mar. 2024 At the time, Miko’s career as a tattoo artist was taking off, giving her money to fund studio time. Frances Solá-Santiago, Rolling Stone, 13 Mar. 2024 His administration also took over Project Momentum, an improvement framework once funded for a handful of schools by the Governor’s Office. Nick Sullivan, The Arizona Republic, 12 Mar. 2024 Bettison said the city hopes to fund community violence intervention programs long term by allocating $8 million dollars in state public safety funding per year. Andrea May Sahouri, Detroit Free Press, 12 Mar. 2024 All proceeds are used to fund programs, scholarships and help those in underserved communities learn the joy that being part of a swim team brings, his parents said. Christina Mayo, Miami Herald, 2 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fund.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

earlier fond, borrowed (with later respelling after Latin fundus) from French fond "bottom, base, foundation," (in plural) "sum of money, capital, resources," going back to Old French funt, font "bottom, base, cultivated ground," going back to Latin fundus — more at bottom entry 1

Verb

derivative of fund entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1628, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

1764, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of fund was in 1628

Dictionary Entries Near fund

Cite this Entry

“Fund.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fund. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

fund

1 of 2 noun
1
: a quantity of available resources : stock, supply
a large fund of jokes
2
a
: a sum of money for a special purpose
the book fund
b
: available money
usually used in plural

fund

2 of 2 verb
: to supply funds for
a program funded by the state
Etymology

Noun

Latin fundus "bottom, piece of land owned as property" — related to found entry 2, fundamental

Legal Definition

fund

1 of 2 noun
1
: a sum of money or other resources whose principal or interest is set aside for a specific objective
client security fund
: a fund established by each state to compensate clients for losses suffered due to their attorneys' misappropriation of funds
common trust fund
: an in-house trust fund established by a bank trust department to pool the assets of many small trusts for greater diversification in investing
executor fund
: a fund established in estate planning to provide for the payment of final expenses by an executor
joint welfare fund
: a fund that is established by collective bargaining to provide health and welfare benefits to employees and that is jointly administered by representatives of labor and management
paid-in fund
: a reserve cash fund in lieu of a capital stock account set up by mutual insurance companies to cover unforeseen losses
sinking fund
: a fund set up and accumulated by regular deposits for paying off the principal on a debt or for other specified purposes (as self-insurance)
strike fund
: a fund accumulated by a union through special assessments or from general funds and used to pay striking workers or for other strike-related activities
Taft-Hartley fund \ ˈtaft-​ˈhärt-​lē-​ \ after the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, which established it
: joint welfare fund in this entry
trust fund
: property (as money or securities) settled or held in a trust
2
: an organization administering a special fund
exchange-traded fund
: a fund that is similar to an index fund in tracking a stock index but that is traded on the stock market
growth fund
: a mutual fund that invests in the stock of growth companies
hedge fund
: an investing group usually in the form of a limited partnership that employs speculative techniques in the hope of obtaining large capital gains
index fund
: a mutual fund that invests to reflect the composition of the market as a whole by matching its investments to a stock index
mutual fund
: an investment company that invests its shareholders' money in a usually diversified group of securities of other companies
vulture fund
: an investment company that buys up bankrupt or insolvent companies with the goal of reorganizing them so they can be profitably resold as going concerns

fund

2 of 2 transitive verb
1
a
: to make provision of resources for discharging the principal or interest of
b
: to provide financial resources for
2
: to place in a fund
3
: to convert into a debt that is payable either at a distant date or at no definite date and that bears a fixed interest

More from Merriam-Webster on fund

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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