revenue

UK /ˈrevənjuː/ US /ˈrevəˌnu/ Syllables: rev-e-nue

Pronunciation

Noun B2 Upper-intermediate Neutral

Income generated by a business or received by a government, especially from taxes.

Revenue is the money that an organization receives, such as a company's income from sales or a government's income from taxes. In business, revenue usually means the total amount earned from selling goods or services before costs are taken away. Profit is what is left after the costs are paid. Governments collect revenue from taxes, fees and duties. Close words are income, earnings, receipts, proceeds, takings and turnover. The opposite is expenditure, which means money spent. Revenue is often uncountable, but the plural revenues is also common, especially for a list of sources of income. In some countries the tax authority is called the Revenue.

"The company's revenue grew by ten percent last year."

Meanings

Income that a business or organization receives, especially from sales.
Income that a government receives, especially from taxes.

Example sentences

"The company's revenue rose by ten percent."

Level B2, Meaning 1
"The city needs more revenue to repair the roads."

Level B2, Meaning 2
"Advertising is the main source of revenue for the site."

Level B2, Meaning 1
"Tax revenue fell during the recession."

Level B2, Meaning 2
"Revenues from tickets doubled this year."

Level B2, Meaning 1

Synonyms and antonyms

Synonyms

income earnings

Antonyms

expenditure

Look-alikes and common mistakes

profit : Profit is revenue minus costs. Revenue is the total money coming in.
income : Income is the general word, often for a person's pay. Revenue is more often used for a business or a government.
turnover : Turnover is a British word for a company's total sales, close to revenue.
avenue : An avenue is a wide street. It looks like the end of revenue but means something different.

Word family and forms

Forms: revenues

revenue stream tax revenue

Word partners

Words and phrases that often go with "revenue".

annual revenue
tax revenue
advertising revenue
revenue growth
generate revenue
a revenue stream
sales revenue
increase revenue

Origin

Revenue came into English in the early 1400s from Middle French, where it was the feminine past participle of revenir, meaning to return. That verb came from Latin revenire, built from re, meaning back, and venire, meaning to come. So revenue is, in origin, what comes back.

Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Dictionary.com.

How to remember it

Revenue comes from a Latin word meaning to come back. Revenue is money that comes back to you from your work or investments.

Test yourself

Which word fits the gap? "The company's _____ rose by ten percent."

Answer: revenue

In your own words, what does "revenue" mean?