ENGLISH
REFERENCE

deposit

n. countable
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford US //dəˈpɑzɪt// UK //dɪpˈɒsɪt// de·posit General-service

n. an amount of money you pay into a bank account. It can also mean a first payment you make to show you plan to buy something or rent a home.

n. a sum of money placed in a bank account or given as a first payment toward a purchase or rental agreement. In a physical sense, it refers to a layer of accumulated matter, such as minerals in the earth.


SIMPLE

I need to make a deposit at the bank today.

CONTEXTUAL

The landlord requires a one-month security deposit before you can move into the new apartment.

COMPLEX

Geologists discovered a massive iron ore deposit beneath the valley, which could provide enough raw material to sustain the local steel industry for several decades.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *de Proto-Italic *dē Latin dē Latin dē- Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Indo-European *h₂pó Proto-Indo-European *teḱ-der. Proto-Indo-European *tḱey-der. Proto-Italic *sinō Proto-Italic *pozinō Old Latin *poznō Latin pōnō Latin dēpōnō Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tos Latin -tus Latin deposituslbor. English deposit Learned borrowing from Latin depositus, past participle of depono (“put down”). Doublet of depot.

Usage

Commonly takes the preposition 'on' when referring to a purchase ('a deposit on a car') or 'in' for bank accounts.

Pitfall

I made a deposit for my accountI made a deposit into my accountWhen moving money into a bank account, use 'into' or 'to' rather than 'for'.

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