amortization.

1. The gradual repayment of a debt through a planned series of payments.

2. The systematic allocation of an asset’s recorded cost over its relevant useful period, especially for an intangible asset.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• loan amortization
• amortization schedule

On the page

The amortization schedule showed how much of each payment reduced the outstanding principal.

Lower early payments extended the amortization period and increased the total interest paid.

Usage notes

Primary category: economics / business / social science. Forms: Usually uncountable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: financial analysis, risk evaluation, comparison, explanation. Disciplines: economics, finance, business. Commonness: uncommon.