revenue
Pluralrevenues
Pluralrevenues
- 1The total income a business receives from its normal activities, chiefly the sale of goods and services, before any costs are taken away; turnover.
The company reported quarterly revenue of $2.3 billion, up eight percent from a year earlier.
Subscription fees now account for half of the streaming service's revenue.
UsageNot the same as profit, which is what is left after costs. Companies report, generate or bring in revenue.
Note
An accountant's top line: everything a business takes in from selling goods or services before a single cost is subtracted. Under accrual accounting it is counted when it is earned, not when the cash arrives. Sales are usually reported net of returns and discounts, and revenue can run above net sales when a firm also earns interest or other side income.
- 2The total income received from a particular source.
Revenue from the annual book sale covers most of the library's summer programs.
The toll bridge generates steady revenue for the county each year.
UsageUsually revenue from a source: revenue from ticket sales.
Similarincome, earnings, receipts, money
Oppositeexpenditure
- 3All income raised for a government's treasury through taxation and other means.
Falling oil prices cut sharply into the state's revenue last year.
Customs duties once provided most of the federal government's revenue.
UsageOften tax revenue; governments raise or collect revenue.
Similarincome, receipts, funds
Oppositeexpenditure, spending
- 4The government agency responsible for collecting taxes, called the Revenue in British usage and commonly Revenue in Ireland, with a capital R.
The Revenue has written to thousands of self-employed workers about late tax returns.
My accountant spent a week on the phone to the Revenue over a mistake in last year's figures.
UsageUsually the Revenue, with a capital R: a letter from the Revenue. In lower case, revenue is the money, not the office.
Less common meanings
- 5The income that an investment returns to the person or organization holding it.
The endowment's revenue from dividends funds three scholarships each year.
He retired early and lived on the revenue from his rental properties.
UsageOften revenue from something (revenue from rents), with bring in or generate.
Similarincome, yield, return, earnings, dividend
Note
A word whose shape tells its meaning: revenue is literally what comes back, from Old French for "a return". English first recorded it in 1433 for income from property or possessions.
- 6Something received or paid back in return; a recompense for one's actions or efforts.
UsageUsually revenue of + a quality or feeling: a revenue of praise.
Similarreward, return, recompense
Note
A metaphor of tribute that pictures gratitude as income owed to a ruler. Charles Spurgeon uses it in a sermon: "What, no revenue of praise for him who is our gracious Lord and King!" The image borrows from the treasury meaning, so it suits elevated, rhetorical prose rather than everyday talk.
- 7To bring in income, whether from sales, investments, or some other source.
- 8To provide a person, group, or institution with income.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of revenue apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
Recorded in English from 1433 meaning "income from property or possessions," it comes from Middle French revenue, the feminine past participle of revenir ("come back"), literally "a return." This traces back to Latin revenire ("to return, come back"), from re- ("back") plus venire ("to come").
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 7 facts
- Revenue is recorded in English from 1433 with the meaning income from property or possessions. en.wiktionary.org
- English revenue comes from Middle French revenue. fr.wiktionary.org
- Revenue is the feminine past participle of revenir. fr.wiktionary.org
- Revenir means come back. en.wiktionary.org
- The French noun revenue means a return. fr.wiktionary.org
- The etymology traces back to Latin revenire, meaning to return or come back. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin revenire combines re-, meaning back, and venire, meaning to come. en.wiktionary.org