Interest | Mean of interest in English Dictionary

/ˈɪntrəst/

• Noun
• a feeling of wanting to learn more about something or to be involved in something
1. She told us about her lifelong interest in music.
2. I have no interest in politics. [=I am not interested in politics]
3. The kids listened to the speaker for a little while, but then lost interest.
4. The speaker wasn't able to hold/keep their interest.
5. I've been following his career with (great) interest.
6. She took/had an active interest in the political debate.
7. He expressed/showed an interest in learning more about photography.
• a quality that attracts your attention and makes you want to learn more about something or to be involved in something
1. The stories about his personal life add interest to the book.
2. He looked through the available magazines, but found nothing of interest. [=nothing interesting]
3. I thought this article might be of interest to you.
4. We visited many places of interest on our vacation.
5. The price of the ticket was a matter of interest to everyone.
6. a story that has human interest = a human-interest story [=a story that is interesting because it involves the experiences of real people]
• something (such as a hobby) that a person enjoys learning about or doing
1. Music is one of her many interests.
2. She has a number of outside interests. [=things that she enjoys doing when she is not working]

• the money paid by a borrower for the use of borrowed money
1. We pay six percent interest on the loan.
2. The loan was repaid with interest.
3. monthly interest payments/charges
4. interest rates
5. an interest-free loan [=a loan that the borrower does not have to pay any interest on]
• money paid to you by a bank for the money you have in a bank account
1. He made about $500 in interest last year.
• a legal share in a business or property
1. They offered to buy out his interest in the company.
• a group financially involved in an industry or business
1. This law is opposed by the oil interests.
• Verb
• to cause (someone) to want to learn more about something or to become involved in something
1. Military history doesn't really interest me.
2. It might interest you to know that the woman in this photograph is your great-grandmother.
3. It interested me to learn that she had once lived in California.
• to persuade (someone) to have, take, or participate in (something)
1. Can I interest you in a game of tennis? [=would you like to play tennis?]
2. Could I interest you in another cup of coffee? [=would you like another cup of coffee?]
3. The salesman tried to interest me in a more expensive computer.