ENGLISH
REFERENCE

discount

n. countable
B1 Intermediate Oxford US //ˈdɪskaʊnt// dis·count Archaic General-service

n. a reduction in the usual price of something. You get this when a shop sells an item for less money than it normally costs.

n. a reduction in the standard price of a good or service. Often expressed as a percentage or a fixed amount subtracted from the gross total.


SIMPLE

The shop offers a ten percent discount for students.

CONTEXTUAL

If you book your flights at least three months in advance, you can usually secure a significant discount.

COMPLEX

Retailers often use a deep discount on high-demand items as a loss leader to entice customers into the store, hoping they will purchase full-priced goods as well.

Synonyms
Origin

Alteration of French descompte, décompte, from Old French disconter, desconter (“reckon off, account back, discount”), from Medieval Latin discomputō (“to deduct, discount”), from Latin dis- (“away”) + computō (“to reckon, count”). By surface analysis, dis- + count.

Usage

Commonly takes the preposition 'on' (a discount on shoes) or 'for' (a discount for members).

Pitfall

I got a 20% off discountI got a 20% discountLearners often combine 'discount' with 'off' redundantly; use either 'a 20% discount' or '20% off'.

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