I. ˈfənd noun
( -s )
Etymology: French & Latin; French fond bottom, innermost part, basis & French fonds stock or capital, piece of landed property, from Latin fundus bottom, piece of landed property — more at bottom
1. obsolete
a. : the lowest or innermost part : bottom
b. : basis 3
what may afford fund enough for ridicule — Joseph Butler
2. obsolete : font
3.
a. : a quantity of material resources maintained or available as a source of supply
of a large fund of land and of a considerable reserve of labor seeking employment in agriculture — Peter Struve
b. : a supply of intangible resources (as of information, stories, wisdom, goodwill)
4. : an appropriation (as of permanent revenue) or a deposit or collection of money or its equivalent used as a resource or security:
a. : a sum of money or other resources the principal or interest of which is set apart for a specific objective or activity
a fund for retirement of bonds
a campaign fund
specifically : a reserve or accumulation set up by a self-insurer or some public body (as the federal or a state government) for the assumption of certain risks
b. : money on deposit which is held at a specified place and on which checks or drafts can be drawn — usually used in plural
prefers payment from foreign concerns in New York funds
c. : stock , capital
the fund of a bank
d. funds plural : the stock of the British national debt — called also public funds ; usually used with the
the holdings of these men in the funds — W.O.Aydelotte
5. funds plural : available pecuniary resources ordinarily including cash and negotiable paper that can be converted to cash at any time without loss
will be in funds again after payday
6. : an organization administering a special fund
the International Monetary Fund … conferred with its members — Britannica Book of the Year
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1.
a. : to provide and appropriate a fund or permanent revenue to pay the interest of : make permanent provision of resources for discharging the interest or principal of
a pledge of customs revenue to fund government notes
fund employees' pensions
b. : to make provision for meeting (a recurrent future liability) by systematic accumulation of a fund
fund a pension plan
2. : to place in a fund : store up : accumulate
a background of … funded notions of the beautiful — F.J.Mather
3. : to convert (a floating or short-time debt or a number of different debts) into a debt that is payable either at a distant date usually with an option to the debtor to redeem after a certain time or at no definite date and that bears a fixed interest
4. : to invest (money) in the British public funds