Definition of "amortize" []

• To liquidate (a debt, such as a mortgage) by installment payments or payment into a sinking fund. (verb-transitive)
• To write off an expenditure for (office equipment, for example) by prorating over a certain period. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Her training group was being pressured to "leverage" or, in English, amortize the investment in the videoconference system."
• "The trouble for the Hyatt's owner, Rockwood Capital LLC, is that last December the hotel's mortgage started to amortize, meaning the hotel had to start paying not only interest but also a portion of the loan's principal."
• "The pilot process is a monstrous waste of time and money, stunningly inefficient an you say "amortize" kids?"