Definition of "dividend" []

• Mathematics A quantity to be divided. (noun)
• A share of profits received by a stockholder or by a policyholder in a mutual insurance society. (noun)
• A payment pro rata to a creditor of a person adjudged bankrupt. (noun)
• A share of a surplus; a bonus. (noun)
• An unexpected gain, benefit, or advantage. (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.

• "Use the product to multiply the dividend, calling the result the _prepared dividend_."
• "When a company decides not to declare a dividend it is said to _pass its dividend_."
• "An administration official said the dividend is a fair price for the companies to pay in exchange for taxpayer support and would be reexamined only in the context of an overall revamp of housing finance policy next year."