Definition of "duration" []

• Continuance or persistence in time. (noun)
• A period of existence or persistence: sat quietly through the duration of the speech. (noun)
• The number of years required to receive the present value of future payments, both of interest and principle, of a bond, often used as an indicator of a bond's price volatility resulting from changes in interest rates. (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.

• "You are getting a little bit higher rate as you go farther out on what we call the duration curve."
• "Marriage duration is another new statistic, with the national average at about 18.2 years."
• "Yeah some freshwater fish can pull hard but duration is lacking."