/ ˈɪntrəst; NAmE ; -trest/ noun , verb
■ noun
WANTING TO KNOW MORE
1.
[ sing. , U ] interest (in sb/sth) the feeling that you have when you want to know or learn more about sb/sth :
to feel / have / show / express (an) interest in sth
Do your parents take an interest in your friends?
By that time I had lost (all) interest in the idea.
I watched with interest .
As a matter of interest , (= I'd like to know) what time did the party finish?
Just out of interest , how much did it cost?
—compare disinterest
ATTRACTION
2.
[ U ] the quality that sth has when it attracts sb's attention or makes them want to know more about it :
There are many places of interest near the city.
The subject is of no interest to me at all.
These plants will add interest to your garden in winter.
—see also human interest , love interest
HOBBY
3.
[ C ] an activity or a subject that you enjoy and that you spend your free time doing or studying :
Her main interests are music and tennis.
He was a man of wide interests outside his work.
—compare hobby
MONEY
4.
[ U ] interest (on sth) ( finance ) the extra money that you pay back when you borrow money or that you receive when you invest money :
to pay interest on a loan
The money was repaid with interest .
interest charges / payments
Interest rates have risen by 1%.
high rates of interest
—see also compound interest , simple interest
ADVANTAGE
5.
[ C , usually pl. , U ] a good result or an advantage for sb/sth :
to promote / protect / safeguard sb's interests
She was acting entirely in her own interests .
These reforms were in the best interests of local government.
It is in the public interest that these facts are made known.
—see also self-interest
SHARE IN BUSINESS
6.
[ C , usually pl. ] interest (in sth) a share in a business or company and its profits :
She has business interests in France.
American interests in Europe (= money invested in European countries)
—see also controlling interest
CONNECTION
7.
[ C , U ] interest (in sth) a connection with sth which affects your attitude to it, especially because you may benefit from it in some way :
I should, at this point, declare my interest .
Organizations have an interest in ensuring that employee motivation is high.
—compare disinterest
—see also vested interest
GROUP OF PEOPLE
8.
[ C , usually pl. ] a group of people who are in the same business or who share the same aims which they want to protect :
powerful farming interests
relationships between local government and business interests
•
IDIOMS
- have sb's interests at heart
- in the interest(s) of sth
- to do sth (back) with interest
—more at conflict noun
■ verb
interest sb / yourself (in sth) to attract your attention and make you feel interested; to make yourself give your attention to sth :
[ vn ]
Politics doesn't interest me.
She has always interested herself in charity work.
[ vn to inf ]
It may interest you to know that Andy didn't accept the job.
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- interest sb in sth
••
SYNONYMS
interest
hobby ♦ game ♦ pastime
These are all words for activities that you do for pleasure in your spare time.
interest
an activity or subject that you do or study for pleasure in your spare time:
Her main interests are music and gardening.
hobby
an activity that you do for pleasure in your spare time:
His hobbies include swimming and cooking.
game
a children's activity when they play with toys, pretend to be sb else, etc.; an activity that you do to have fun:
a game of cops and robbers
•
He was playing games with the dog.
pastime
an activity that people do for pleasure in their spare time:
Eating out is the national pastime in France.
interest, hobby or pastime?
A hobby is often more active than an interest :
His main hobby is football (= he plays football) .
•
His main interest is football (= he watches and reads about football, and may or may not play it) .
Pastime is used when talking about people in general; when you are talking about yourself or an individual person it is more usual to use interest or hobby : Eating out is the national interest / hobby in France. • Do you have any pastimes?
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
a popular interest / hobby / pastime
Do you have any interests / hobbies?
to take up / pursue a(n) interest / hobby
to do sth as a hobby
••
WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (originally as interess ): from Anglo-Norman French interesse , from Latin interesse differ, be important, from inter- between + esse be. The -t was added partly by association with Old French interest damage, loss, apparently from Latin interest it is important. The original sense was the possession of a share in or a right to something ; hence sense 6. Sense 1 and the verb arose in the 18th cent. Sense 4 was influenced by medieval Latin interesse compensation for a debtor's defaulting.