mutual
Noun pluralmutuals
Pluralmutuals
- 1Felt or done by two people toward each other in the same way.
Like two friends who both wave hello at the very same moment.
They share a mutual respect for each other's work.
Their dislike was mutual, and neither one tried to hide it.
Similarreciprocal, shared, common
Oppositeone-sided, unrequited
- 2Given by each side to the other in return.
Like trading favors: you help me, and I help you back.
The deal involved mutual concessions from both parties.
They made a mutual promise to help each other through hard times.
Similarreciprocal, two-way, bilateral
Oppositeone-sided, unilateral
- 3Shared by everyone in a group, or done together.
Like a song the whole class sings together.
Finishing the project was a mutual effort by the whole team.
They worked hard toward their mutual goal.
Similarcommon, shared, joint, collective
Oppositeindividual, separate
- 4Owned or known by two or more people together.
Like a toy that two kids both own and share.
A mutual friend introduced them at the party.
The garden became their mutual property after they married.
Oppositeseparate, individual
Note
- 5Owned by the people who are its members, not by outside investors.
Like a club that belongs to everyone who joins it.
She opened an account at a mutual bank owned entirely by its depositors.
The mutual insurer returned its extra profits to the policyholders.
Similarcooperative
Note
- 6A kind of investment that pools money from many people to buy stocks or bonds.
Like a big basket where many people put money to buy many things at once.
She moved her savings into a low-cost mutual last year.
Many beginners start with mutuals because they spread the risk.
- 7A person you follow online who also follows you back.
Like two people who each have the other on their friend list.
She's a mutual, so I see her posts all the time.
I finally met one of my mutuals at the meetup.
Note
- 8A company owned by its members or customers instead of outside investors.
Like a shop owned by all the people who shop there.
The building society stayed a mutual, owned by its savers.
Several small mutuals merged to form one larger insurer.
Similarcooperative, co-op
Note
Showing meanings only.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of mutual apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
It came from a French word mutuel, based on the Latin word mūtuus.