What does amortising mean?
Amortising means reducing a financial burden gradually rather than dealing with it all at once. In its most familiar use, an amortising loan or mortgage is repaid through a schedule of regular payments, some of which reduce the outstanding principal and some of which cover interest. The term can also mean spreading the cost of an asset or expense over its useful life or another defined period, so that accounting charges are distributed across multiple reporting periods. The word is formal and chiefly associated with finance, accounting, and business, though it is fully understandable to general readers. It is useful because it captures a basic financial idea: an ongoing obligation can be reduced in stages. British English normally writes the verb as amortise, producing amortising, while American English more often uses amortize and amortizing. In either spelling, the -ing form is often used attributively, although it can also stand alone when describing an activity in progress.
verb (present participle)Gradually paying off a debt, typically through regular payments; by extension, spreading the cost of an asset or expense over time.
- Gradually extinguishing a debt or loan through regular payments.
- Spreading the cost of an asset or expense over its useful life or another defined period.
"The lender offers a five-year mortgage with amortising payments that steadily reduce the outstanding balance."
"The lender offers a five-year mortgage with amortising payments, reducing both interest and principal over time."
"By amortising the cost of the software over three years, the company avoids a large one-off expense."
Its name is disarmingly morbid: from a Latin expression meaning "to death," amortising describes making a debt disappear gradually.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does amortising come from?
Amortising comes from the British-spelled verb amortise, borrowed through French from Latin ad and mortem, meaning "to death." The verb originally had senses connected with making something dead or ineffective, before acquiring the financial meanings of extinguishing an obligation and spreading a charge over time. The same Latin root also underlies words such as mortal and mortality.
Related word forms
How amortising is actually used
The word is formal and chiefly associated with finance, accounting, and business. The -ising spelling is conventional in British English and other varieties using -ise, while US English normally uses -izing. As a present participle, it frequently functions attributively before a finance-related noun.
Easily confused with amortising
Amortizing is the standard US spelling of the same present participle, with -izing rather than -ising.