ENGLISH
REFERENCE

revenue

n. C / U
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford US //ˈɹɛvəˌnu// UK //ɹˈɛvənjˌuː// rev·enue Academic General-service

n. the total amount of money a company or government receives from its activities. It is the money coming in before any costs or taxes are taken out.

n. the total income generated by the sale of goods or services related to an organisation's primary operations. Often contrasted with profit, which represents the remaining income after expenses.


SIMPLE

The company reported a significant increase in annual revenue.

CONTEXTUAL

The city council plans to increase tax revenue by attracting new businesses to the downtown area.

COMPLEX

While the startup achieved impressive top-line revenue growth, its high customer acquisition costs meant it remained unprofitable for the third consecutive fiscal year.

Synonyms
Origin

Recorded in English from 1433, "income from property or possessions", from Middle French revenue, from Old French [Term?] (“a return”) (modern French revenu), the prop. feminine past participle of revenir (“come back”) (=modern French), from Latin revenire (“to return, come back”), from re- (“back”) + venire (“to come”).

Usage

Uncountable when referring to the general concept of income; countable when discussing specific sources or streams of income.

Pitfall

The company made a high revenue.The company had high revenue.Learners often use 'make' with revenue as they do with 'profit', but 'generate', 'earn', or 'have' are the correct collocations.

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