Interest1. (n.) To engage the attention of; to awaken interest in; to excite emotion or passion in, in behalf of a person or thing; as, the subject did not interest him; to interest one in charitable work.
2. (n.) To be concerned with or engaged in; to affect; to concern; to excite; -- often used impersonally.
3. (n.) To cause or permit to share.
4. (n.) Excitement of feeling, whether pleasant or painful, accompanying special attention to some object; concern.
5. (n.) Participation in advantage, profit, and responsibility; share; portion; part; as, an interest in a brewery; he has parted with his interest in the stocks.
6. (n.) Advantage, personal or general; good, regarded as a selfish benefit; profit; benefit.
7. (n.) Premium paid for the use of money, -- usually reckoned as a percentage; as, interest at five per cent per annum on ten thousand dollars.
8. (n.) Any excess of advantage over and above an exact equivalent for what is given or rendered.
9. (n.) The persons interested in any particular business or measure, taken collectively; as, the iron interest; the cotton interest.
Thesaurus Entries
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