asset

noun

SayAS-etUS · UK/ˈæsɛt//ˈæset/

5 meanings of asset

1
nouncountable
Something useful or valuable that a person or business owns.
Like a tool in a toolbox: something useful you can count on.
Her car is her most valuable asset.
Good health is an asset that money cannot buy.
Similaradvantage, strength, resource, benefit, plus
Oppositeliability, drawback, disadvantage, handicap
Note
2
nouncountable
In accounting, anything a business owns that is recorded as having value.
Like adding up everything you own to see what it is all worth.
The factory building is listed as an asset on the company's books.
Cash in the bank counts as an asset.
Oppositeliability
Note
3
nouncountable
A person who secretly gives information to a spy agency.
Like having a secret helper hidden inside the other team.
The agency lost its best asset when the spy was caught.
He worked as an asset for years, passing secrets to his handler.
Similarinformant, source, agent, mole, spy
Note
4
nouncountable
In computing, a part, design, or process that has value and can be used again.
Like a building block you can use over and over in different models.
The team saved time by reusing an asset from an older project.
Each game asset, like a sound or an image, can be used in many levels.
Similarresource, component
Note
5
nounslangcountable
A playful slang word for a person's attractive body parts, like the chest or bottom.
In a swimsuit, she liked to show off her assets.
In those tight pants, the singer's assets were hard to miss.
Similarcharms
Note

Practice

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Origin

It came from the word "assets," which goes back to Old French "assez," meaning "enough."