What does amortise mean?
Amortise means to pay off a debt gradually through scheduled instalments, or to spread the cost or value of an asset over its expected useful life. The process converts what might otherwise be a large immediate expense into a series of smaller, more manageable charges. A business may amortise equipment costs across several accounting periods, while a borrower amortises a mortgage or other loan through regular payments that combine principal and interest. The important idea is not that an asset's market value necessarily falls, but that its cost is systematically distributed over time. Amortise is especially associated with finance and accounting, yet it is standard rather than obscure language. Its usefulness lies in making an abstract financial mechanism concrete: a cost or debt is absorbed steadily instead of striking the budget in one moment. It is also the usual British spelling, while American English normally writes “amortize”.
verbTo pay off a debt gradually through scheduled instalments, or to spread the cost or value of an asset over its expected useful life.
- To pay off a debt gradually, usually through scheduled instalments, so that the outstanding amount falls over time.
- To spread the cost or value of an asset over its expected useful life by recording periodic charges.
"The company will amortise the cost of the new machinery over five years."
"They can amortise the remaining mortgage over a further twenty years."
"The government agreed to amortise the cost of the project across several financial years."
It turns one huge bill into a trail of smaller, more manageable ones.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does amortise come from?
Amortise was borrowed from French amortir, originally meaning “to make dead” or “extinguish,” and ultimately from Latin forms based on ad- and the root mors or mortis, meaning “death.” The financial sense developed from the idea of extinguishing an obligation by paying or accounting for it gradually. By the nineteenth century, the word was established in English for the systematic payment of debts and the spreading of asset costs, with related forms also developed in other Romance languages.
Related word forms
How amortise is actually used
Chiefly used in finance, accounting, and lending. In general prose, “pay off” or “spread the cost over time” may be clearer.
Easily confused with amortise
Amortise is the standard British spelling, whereas amortize is the standard American spelling; both have the same meanings.