FUND

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does fund mean? 

• FUND (noun)
  The noun FUND has 3 senses:

1. a reserve of money set aside for some purpose

2. a supply of something available for future use

3. a financial institution that sells shares to individuals and invests in securities issued by other companies

  Familiarity information: FUND used as a noun is uncommon.

• FUND (verb)
  The verb FUND has 6 senses:

1. convert (short-term floating debt) into long-term debt that bears fixed interest and is represented by bonds

2. place or store up in a fund for accumulation

3. provide a fund for the redemption of principal or payment of interest

4. invest money in government securities

5. accumulate a fund for the discharge of a recurrent liability

6. furnish money for

  Familiarity information: FUND used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FUND (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A reserve of money set aside for some purpose

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Synonyms:

fund; monetary fund

Hypernyms ("fund" is a kind of...):

money (the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fund"):

slush fund (a fund for buying votes or bribing public officials)

petty cash (a small fund of cash that a firm keeps for the payment of incidental expenses)

budget (a sum of money allocated for a particular purpose)

bank deposit; deposit (money deposited in a bank or some similar institution)

trust fund (a fund held in trust)

war chest (a fund accumulated to finance a war (or a political campaign))

pension fund; superannuation fund (a fund reserved to pay workers' pensions when they retire from service)

nest egg; savings (a fund of money put by as a reserve)

sinking fund (a fund accumulated regularly in a separate account and used to redeem debt securities)

revolving fund (a fund which, if borrowed or used, is intended to be replenished so it may be loaned or spent repeatedly)

mutual fund (the pooled money that is invested in assets)

Derivation:

fund (furnish money for)

fund (place or store up in a fund for accumulation)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A supply of something available for future use

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Synonyms:

fund; stock; store

Context example:

he brought back a large store of Cuban cigars

Hypernyms ("fund" is a kind of...):

accumulation ((finance) profits that are not paid out as dividends but are added to the capital base of the corporation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fund"):

base; infrastructure (the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area)

cache; hoard; stash (a secret store of valuables or money)

provision (a store or supply of something (especially of food or clothing or arms))

government issue; issue; military issue (supplies (as food or clothing or ammunition) issued by the government)

seed stock (a supply of seeds (or tubers) reserved for planting)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A financial institution that sells shares to individuals and invests in securities issued by other companies

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

fund; investment company; investment firm; investment trust

Hypernyms ("fund" is a kind of...):

nondepository financial institution (a financial institution that funds their investment activities from the sale of securities or insurance)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fund"):

mutual fund; mutual fund company; open-end fund; open-end investment company (a regulated investment company with a pool of assets that regularly sells and redeems its shares)

closed-end fund; closed-end investment company (a regulated investment company that issues a fixed number of shares which are listed on a stock market)

face-amount certificate company (a regulated investment company that pays a stated amount to certificate holders on a stated maturity date)

Real Estate Investment Trust; REIT (an investment trust that owns and manages a pool of commercial properties and mortgages and other real estate assets; shares can be bought and sold in the stock market)

unit investment trust; unit trust (a regulated investment company consisting of professional managers who issue redeemable securities representing a portfolio of many different securities)

fixed investment trust; nondiscretionary trust (an investment trust that can buy only those securities listed when the trust was organized)

hedge fund; hedgefund (a flexible investment company for a small number of large investors (usually the minimum investment is $1 million); can use high-risk techniques (not allowed for mutual funds) such as short-selling and heavy leveraging)

Derivation:

fund (invest money in government securities)

fund (provide a fund for the redemption of principal or payment of interest)

• FUND (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they fund    ... he / she / it funds   
Past simple: funded   
Past participle: funded   
-ing form: funding   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Convert (short-term floating debt) into long-term debt that bears fixed interest and is represented by bonds

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "fund" is one way to...):

finance (obtain or provide money for)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Place or store up in a fund for accumulation

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "fund" is one way to...):

accumulate; amass; collect; compile; hoard; pile up; roll up (get or gather together)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

fund (a reserve of money set aside for some purpose)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Provide a fund for the redemption of principal or payment of interest

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "fund" is one way to...):

furnish; provide; render; supply (give something useful or necessary to)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

fund (a financial institution that sells shares to individuals and invests in securities issued by other companies)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Invest money in government securities

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "fund" is one way to...):

commit; invest; place; put (make an investment)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

fund (a financial institution that sells shares to individuals and invests in securities issued by other companies)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Accumulate a fund for the discharge of a recurrent liability

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Context example:

fund a medical care plan

Hypernyms (to "fund" is one way to...):

accumulate; amass; collect; compile; hoard; pile up; roll up (get or gather together)

Verb group:

fund (furnish money for)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 6

Meaning:

Furnish money for

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Context example:

The government funds basic research in many areas

Hypernyms (to "fund" is one way to...):

support (support materially or financially)

"Fund" entails doing...:

finance (obtain or provide money for)

Verb group:

fund (accumulate a fund for the discharge of a recurrent liability)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fund"):

grubstake (supply with funds in return for a promised share of profits)

bankroll (provide with sufficient funds; finance)

absorb; take over (take up, as of debts or payments)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

They fund him to write the letter

Derivation:

fund (a reserve of money set aside for some purpose)

funding (the act of financing)

funding (financial resources provided to make some project possible)

 Context examples 

New NASA-funded research suggests that Mercury is contracting even today, joining Earth as a tectonically active planet.

(The Incredible Shrinking Mercury is Active After All, NASA)

The Cow was first observed by the NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System telescope in Hawaii.

(Mysterious Blast Studied with NASA Telescopes, NASA)

"The full implications of this research are yet to be understood," said Germano Iannacchione, a program director in NSF's Division of Materials Research, which funded the project.

(Research reveals exotic quantum states in double-layer graphene, National Science Foundation)

The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases funded the work.

(Vitamin A Supplement May Thwart Tuberculosis Infection, Jessica Berman/VOA)

While immune cells called neutrophils are known to act as infantry in the body’s war on germs, a National Institutes of Health-funded study suggests they can act as medics as well.

(Immune cells may heal bleeding brain after strokes, National Institutes of Health)

The experiments were funded by national research organizations in the United States and China and the government of Brazil.

(Geneticists produce laser-activated killer mice, Wikinews)

Pan-STARRS conducts a near-Earth object (NEO) survey funded by NASA's NEO Observations Program, a key element of NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office.

(Asteroid Tracking Network Observes Close Approach, NASA)

Take a second look at projects you developed earlier in the year that had to be put aside because of a lack of funds or time.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Dubrawski works in the lab of co-author Craig Criddle, who with other co-authors is part of the NSF-funded Engineering Research Center for Re-inventing the Nation's Urban Water Infrastructure.

(Researchers develop technology to harness energy from mixing of freshwater and seawater, National Science Foundation)

A research project that is in an active grant funding cycle.

(Active Funded Research Project, NCI Thesaurus)