Share
SHAIR
/ʃɛər/
nounB1TOEFLIELTS
FormalBusiness
A unit of ownership in a company or financial asset.
While 'share' can refer to a portion of anything, in finance, it specifically denotes a unit of ownership in a corporation, often traded on a stock exchange.
The story behind the word. The word 'share' comes from the Old English 'scearu', meaning 'a part, a division, a cutting'. It's related to the verb 'to shear', meaning to cut or divide. In the financial sense, it literally means a 'part' or 'division' of a company's ownership, reflecting how a company's capital is divided into smaller units.
Word relationships
- Stock: Often used interchangeably with 'share', but 'stock' can also refer to the total capital raised by a company through shares, or a type of security.
- Equity: Refers to the overall value of ownership, whereas 'share' is a single unit.
Commonly confused with
- Bond: A 'share' represents ownership, while a 'bond' represents a loan.
Word family
- Shareholder (noun): An owner of shares in a company.
- Shared (adjective): Owned or experienced by more than one person.
Collocations
- share price
- buy shares
- sell shares
- common share
- preferred share
Example sentences
- "She decided to buy 100 shares in the new tech startup, hoping for future growth." Investing in a company
- "The company's share price surged after announcing record quarterly earnings." Market reporting
- "The Dutch East India Company was one of the first to issue shares to the public in the early 17th century." Historical context of stock markets
Memory hook
Think of a 'share' as a 'slice' of a company's 'pie' – you own a small part of the whole. Slice of pie
When not to use
Do not use 'share' when referring to a loan (use 'bond') or the overall value of ownership (use 'equity').
Fun facts
- The first modern stock exchange was established in Amsterdam in 1602, primarily to trade shares of the Dutch East India Company.
Explore more words
equity, shareholder, asset, insider trading, allocation, capital
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