What does discount mean?
Discount functions as both a noun and a verb. As a noun, it denotes a reduction from the standard price of goods or services, whether expressed as a percentage, a fixed amount, or a special offer such as a student or seasonal discount. As a verb, it carries two main senses: first, to deduct an amount from a price ('the retailer discounts last season's stock'), and second, more figuratively, to dismiss a claim or piece of information as unreliable, exaggerated, or insignificant ('experts discounted the report'). This figurative use is especially common in news reporting and analytical writing, lending the word a slightly skeptical connotation in that context. In finance, discount also refers to selling securities below their face value. Derived forms include discountable, discounted, and discounting. The word traces back through French descunter to Latin computare, meaning to calculate, so at its core a discount is simply a sum counted off.
A reduction made from the gross amount or usual price of something.
"She got a substantial discount because she paid in cash."
Commonly modified by a percentage ('a 15% discount') or by purpose-based adjectives ('military discount').
To deduct an amount from the usual price of something; also, to dismiss or disregard something as unlikely to be true or important.
"The committee discounted his objections as self-interested."
Regular plural, used when referring to multiple reductions or offers.
"Shoppers flocked online hunting for Black Friday discounts."
Every time you snag a bargain, you're using a word born from medieval money-counting: 'discount' literally means to count backwards.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of discount
Discount entered English in the early 17th century, borrowed from French descunter (modern French décompter), formed from the Latin prefix dis- ('apart, away') and computare ('to calculate'). Its literal sense was thus 'to count off' — deducting an amount in reckoning — which naturally gave rise to the commercial sense of reducing a price. From commerce the verb extended figuratively to mean dismissing a claim as unworthy of credence, a sense well established by the 18th century.
Related word forms
How discount is actually used
Both noun and verb are standard in formal and informal registers. In British English, 'discount' is also used attributively in retail terms such as 'discount store' and 'discount code'. The figurative sense of the verb — dismissing a claim as untrustworthy — is common in journalism and academic writing.
Easily confused with discount
An account is a record or arrangement for money or services, while a discount is a reduction in price — the words share a root but differ entirely in meaning.