depreciate

Definition

To decline in value over time, or to belittle something—the financial equivalent of watching your investment slowly deflate like a sad balloon.

Example Usage

Modern vehicles depreciate most rapidly in their first three years of ownership.

Source: Merriam-Webster via Free Dictionary API

Related Terms

Beginner

collateral

The stuff you promise to forfeit if you can't pay back a loan—basically insurance for lenders who don't trust your word alone. It's the financial equivalent of leaving your driver's license at the bowling alley when you rent shoes. Can be your house, car, or collection of vintage Beanie Babies (though banks prefer the first two).

💰 Finance / Accounting

Intermediate

treasury stock

Shares that a company has issued and later repurchased, sitting in corporate limbo—not quite cancelled but no longer outstanding. The equity equivalent of taking back your gift because the recipient didn't appreciate it enough.

💰 Finance / Accounting

Intermediate

impairment charge

An accounting entry recognizing that an asset is now worth less than its book value, forcing companies to admit their expensive acquisition was actually terrible. It's the corporate version of finding out your vintage comic book collection is worthless.

💰 Finance / Accounting

Intermediate

trusts

Legal arrangements where one party holds property or assets for the benefit of another, creating a three-way relationship between the person who created it, the trustee managing it, and the beneficiary enjoying it. It's how wealthy families keep money in the family while minimizing taxes and preventing irresponsible heirs from blowing their inheritance on crypto. Also refers to the confidence you probably shouldn't have in said arrangements.

💰 Finance / Accounting

Beginner

ticking and tying

The tedious audit procedure of tracing numbers from one document to another and reconciling totals, involving literal tick marks on paper. It's as exciting as it sounds and explains why auditors develop that distinctive glazed expression.

💰 Finance / Accounting

Intermediate

non-recurring charge

An expense that supposedly happens only once but mysteriously appears in financial statements every single quarter. It's management's favorite way to exclude bad news from 'adjusted' earnings while claiming it's temporary.

💰 Finance / Accounting

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