ENGLISH
REFERENCE

investment in sth

prep. phr..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford

prep. phr.. the act of putting money, time, or effort into something to get a good result later.

prep. phr.. the allocation of resources—typically capital, time, or labor—into a specific venture or asset with the expectation of future benefit or profit.


SIMPLE

The city needs more investment in public transport.

CONTEXTUAL

Regular exercise is a great investment in your long-term health and happiness.

COMPLEX

Economists argue that sustained investment in renewable energy infrastructure is the only viable path toward achieving carbon neutrality by the end of the decade.

Usage

the preposition 'in' is standard when identifying the target or area of the expenditure.

Teaching tip

point out that 'investment' can be both countable (a specific project) and uncountable (the general concept of spending money).

Pitfall

an investment on the stock marketan investment in the stock marketwhile we say 'spend money on', the noun 'investment' almost always collocates with 'in' when naming the destination of the funds.

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