wealth

wealth — noun

1. the money, property, and other valuable items that a person, family, or organiza

1.nounB1
Definition

the money, property, and other valuable items that a person, family, or organization owns, especially on a substantial scale — for example, a businesswoman whose holdings include stocks, real estate, and art collections.

Example

Sora inherited great wealth from his grandmother's estate in Kyoto.

The wealth of the region comes mainly from its oil reserves and natural gas.

wealth + comes from + source

Common collocations
  • personal wealth
  • family wealth
  • national wealth
  • great wealth
  • vast wealth
  • accumulate wealth
  • inherit wealth
  • create wealth
  • distribute wealth
  • wealth gap
  • wealth management
Synonyms
  • fortune

    implies a very large, often inherited amount of money, more specific and dramatic than wealth

  • riches

    more poetic or literary, often suggesting gold, jewels, and luxury

  • assets

    a precise financial/legal term for anything owned that has monetary value

Antonyms
  • poverty

    the state of having little or no money or possessions

Grammar Patterns

[possessive] + wealth

wealth + of + [source/region]

Usage Note

Uncountable in standard use; quantifiers such as 'great', 'vast', 'considerable', or 'immense' are used instead of 'many'. Frequently appears with possessive determiners ('his wealth', 'the country's wealth').

Common Mistakes

She gained many wealth from her business.
She gained great wealth from her business.
wealth is uncountable; use 'much', 'great', or 'vast', not 'many'.
He has wealths in several countries.
He has wealth in several countries.
wealth does not take a plural form in standard English.

2. a large and plentiful amount of something desirable, such as information, resour

2.nounB2
Definition

a large and plentiful amount of something desirable, such as information, resources, or qualities — for example, a book that contains a wealth of useful tips for new parents.

Example

The rainforest contains an incredible wealth of plant and animal species.

a wealth of + noun (abundance pattern)

This online library offers a wealth of information for anyone starting a small business.

a wealth of information

Common collocations
  • wealth of information
  • wealth of knowledge
  • wealth of experience
  • wealth of resources
  • wealth of detail
  • wealth of talent
  • wealth of ideas
Synonyms
  • abundance

    more direct synonym for 'a large amount'; less formal and more general

  • profusion

    suggests an impressively large and rich variety; more literary

  • plethora

    neutral to slightly formal; can imply almost too much of something

Antonyms
  • dearth

    a scarcity or lack of something

  • lack

    the absence of something needed or expected

Grammar Patterns

a wealth of + [noun phrase]

Usage Note

Almost always appears in the structure 'a wealth of + noun'. Unlike sense 1, this sense does not refer to money or possessions. The noun that follows is typically abstract (information, knowledge, experience) or refers to natural resources.

Common Mistakes

The book has a wealth.
The book has a wealth of useful tips.
in sense 2, wealth must be followed by 'of + noun' to specify what is abundant.
She has a wealth of money.
She has great wealth.
'a wealth of money' is unnatural; use sense 1 wording for financial wealth.

Word family

  • wealthy
    adjectiveB1
  • wealthiness
    nounC1
  • wealthily
    adverbC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Wealth, fortune, riches, assets, and prosperity all relate to having money or valuable things, but they differ in scope and tone. 'Fortune' implies a very large, often inherited amount — you might say 'She made a fortune in tech stocks.' 'Riches' is more poetic and often suggests gold, jewels, or extravagant luxury: 'the riches of the ancient kingdom.' 'Assets' is a precise financial term for anything you own that has value, including property and investments: 'The company's assets include its factories and patents.' 'Prosperity' is broader and refers to an overall state of economic well-being for a person or community — 'The country enjoyed a decade of prosperity.' 'Wealth' sits between them as the most general term for substantial financial resources or valuable possessions.

fortune ↗richesassetsprosperity ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • source of wealth
  • distribution of wealth
  • accumulation of wealth
  • gap between rich and poor

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Wealth comes from Middle English 'welthe', formed from 'wele' (meaning well-being or happiness) plus the noun suffix '-the'. It originally referred to a state of well-being or prosperity in a general sense, but by the 1400s it had shifted to focus on material possessions and money. The word is related to 'well' (the adverb), and its old sense of 'welfare' survives in the phrase 'commonwealth'.