Definition of "asset" []

• A useful or valuable quality, person, or thing; an advantage or resource: proved herself an asset to the company. (noun)
• A valuable item that is owned. (noun)
• A spy working in his or her own country and controlled by the enemy. (noun)
• Accounting The entries on a balance sheet showing all properties, both tangible and intangible, and claims against others that may be applied to cover the liabilities of a person or business. Assets can include cash, stock, inventories, property rights, and goodwill. (noun)
• The entire property owned by a person, especially a bankrupt, that can be used to settle debts. (noun)

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.

• "The Washington Post readers may not have known the term "asset protection" a week ago, but with this help from FICO, they'll figure it out soon."
• "Your main asset is credibility, not money or size."
• "Note 14: Its main asset is the complete archive of EAM (the National Liberation Front), including the archives of the 'Mountain Government', which administered the liberated regions of Greece."