asset

asset — noun

1. a strong skill, helpful trait, or capable person who makes a team, company, or s

1.nounC1
Definition

a strong skill, helpful trait, or capable person who makes a team, company, or situation noticeably better — for example, fluency in Mandarin, calmness under pressure, or a coach who lifts the whole squad.

Example

Patience is a real asset when you teach young children.

subject is a quality + 'asset when' clause

Hana's fluency in Spanish has been a huge asset to the marketing team.

asset to + group noun

Common collocations
  • valuable asset
  • huge asset
  • great asset
  • real asset
  • prove an asset
Synonyms
  • strength

    broader; can describe both qualities and physical force, while 'asset' focuses on usefulness to others

  • advantage

    stresses the benefit gained, rather than the person or trait providing it

  • plus

    informal; usually a small positive feature rather than a major value

Antonyms
  • liability

    someone or something that creates problems for a group, the direct opposite in this sense

  • drawback

    a weak point, but usually about a thing or plan rather than a person

Grammar Patterns

asset to + noun

Usage Note

Subject is usually a person, ability, or personal trait, and the asset is normally described as 'to' a group (team, company, school) or 'in' a situation. Almost always praising — rarely used in neutral or negative contexts.

Common Mistakes

She is an asset for our company.
She is an asset to our company.
the standard preposition is 'to', not 'for'.
His shy character is an asset.
His shy character is a real disadvantage in sales.
'asset' is positive only; don't use it for weaknesses.

2. money, buildings, equipment, or anything else of financial value held by an indi

2.nounC1
Definition

money, buildings, equipment, or anything else of financial value held by an individual or company, which they could sell or use to settle what they owe.

Example

The court ordered the bank to freeze all of Mr. Lin's assets last Tuesday.

freeze + assets (legal collocation)

After the fire, the small bakery had almost no assets left to rebuild with.

plural; possession context

Common collocations
  • financial assets
  • fixed assets
  • liquid assets
  • freeze assets
  • seize assets
  • total assets
  • personal assets
Synonyms
  • holdings

    specifically investments and property a person or firm controls; narrower than 'assets'

  • property

    often physical things like land or buildings; 'assets' also covers cash and shares

  • resources

    broader; includes people, time, and information, not just money or things

Antonyms
  • liabilities

    money or items owed; on a balance sheet, the direct opposite of assets

  • debts

    specifically money you must pay back, narrower than liabilities

Grammar Patterns

assets of + amount

freeze/seize someone's assets

Usage Note

Almost always plural in this sense; the singular 'asset' usually points to one specific holding (a building, a share). Common in legal and accounting contexts (freeze, seize, declare, value, sell off). Distinguish from sense 1: here the meaning is strictly financial property, not personal qualities.

Common Mistakes

I own many asset in Taipei.
I own many assets in Taipei.
countable; use the plural when listing several.
His good health is one of his financial assets.
His good health is one of his greatest personal assets.
financial assets must have monetary value; health belongs to sense 1.

3. a person quietly working for a spy agency, often inside a foreign government or

3.noun
Definition

a person quietly working for a spy agency, often inside a foreign government or company, who passes back hidden information about that group's plans.

Example

The agency had been running an asset inside the embassy for almost a decade.

run an asset (spy-craft collocation)

Two agents were sent to Vienna to recruit a new asset at the bank.

recruit + asset

Common collocations
  • recruit an asset
  • run an asset
  • burn an asset
  • expose an asset
  • deep-cover asset
Synonyms
  • spy

    everyday word; 'asset' is the inside term used by handlers

  • informant

    someone who feeds information, often to police; less formal organizational tie than 'asset'

  • mole

    an asset who is already deep inside a target group, often for years

Antonyms
  • handler

    the agent who controls and meets the asset, the other side of the relationship

Grammar Patterns

recruit/run an asset

Usage Note

Insider term used by intelligence services and spy fiction; 'spy' is the everyday word, while 'asset' suggests someone the agency controls or has turned. Often paired with verbs like recruit, run, handle, burn, or expose.

Common Mistakes

The CIA bought a new asset in Paris.
The CIA recruited a new asset in Paris.
assets are recruited or turned, not bought like equipment.
He is an asset of the police.
He is an informant for the police.
'asset' belongs to spy agencies; for police helpers use 'informant' or 'source'.

Word family

  • assets
    nounC1
  • asset-rich
    adjective
  • asset-stripping
    noun

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words name something that helps a person or group, but they sit at different levels of weight and formality. 'Asset' is the strongest praise: it suggests real, lasting value, and is often used about a person — 'Hana is a real asset to the team.' 'Advantage' focuses on the benefit you gain over others or over a problem; it can be temporary, like 'home advantage' in sports. 'Strength' points to an internal quality that someone reliably does well, often paired with 'weakness' in interviews and reviews. 'Plus' is the most informal and lightest of the four — a nice extra rather than a serious value: 'Free coffee is a plus, but the salary matters more.' Pick 'asset' when you want to honor someone's contribution, 'advantage' for situations and competition, 'strength' for skills and character, 'plus' for small bonuses.

asset ↗advantage ↗strength ↗plus ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • asset value
  • asset class
  • asset management
  • asset price

Adverbs

Phrases

  • a valuable asset
  • a huge asset
  • freeze someone's assets
  • asset of the company

Prepositions

  • asset to
  • asset in
  • asset for (informal)

Etymology

LatinVulgar LatinOld FrenchAnglo-FrenchEnglish

The word came into English in the late 1500s from Anglo-French 'asetz' and Old French 'asez', meaning 'enough'. In legal use it first meant 'enough property to pay off the debts of someone who has died', so it was always plural. From the idea of 'enough money to cover what is owed', the meaning grew to cover any valuable property a person or business owns, and later, in the 20th century, was stretched again to describe any useful person or quality, and then again as spy-agency slang for a recruited insider.