What does revenue mean?
Revenue is the income that a business, organization, or government receives from its activities. For a company, it may come from selling products, providing services, subscriptions, advertising, or other commercial activity. For a government, it commonly refers to money collected through taxes, duties, and other public sources. The term is especially common in business, accounting, economics, and government reports, where it describes income before the costs of operation are subtracted. Revenue is not the same as profit: a company can have substantial revenue while still losing money if its expenses are greater than its income. The word is also used in contexts such as tax revenue, annual revenue, and revenue growth, where it can refer either to a total amount or to a distinct source of income. Its history is unusually vivid: the word developed from Latin roots associated with returning or giving back, reflecting an older financial idea of money coming back to its source.
nounThe income or proceeds received by a business, organization, or government from its activities, especially from sales or taxation. In accounting, revenue generally means gross income before costs and other expenses are deducted.
- Income received by a business or other organization from selling goods or services, or from its ordinary activities.
- Public income collected by a government or state, especially through taxes and duties.
"The company reported strong revenue after its products gained popularity in international markets."
"Subscription growth helped the publisher increase its annual revenue."
"The government will use additional tax revenue to improve public services."
The word is normally uncountable for total income, but the plural “revenues” is used for different sources or streams of income.
"The company generates revenue from subscriptions, advertising, and licensing."
The word revenue originally meant something given or returned, so its modern sense of money received preserves the idea of a financial return.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Words that share this root
Related word forms
How revenue is actually used
Revenue is a formal and primarily business or governmental term. It usually refers to gross income and should not be confused with profit, which is the amount remaining after expenses have been deducted; in British English, turnover is often used similarly to revenue.
Easily confused with revenue
Revenue means income received by a business or government, whereas reverence means a feeling of deep respect.
Revenue refers to money or income, while revenge means retaliation for a perceived wrong.