operating capital
1
4.1
- noun
- /ˈɑːpəˌreɪtɪŋ ˈkæpɪtəl/
- Specialized
:
capital de operación
- Sooner or later, most small businesses need to get a small business loan, whether to get the operating capital for business startup or to finance an expansion.
Examples
-
Galahad's financial report showed that the group's contributions had put their operating capital back over the agreed-upon $600,000.
Fiction book (1995) -
I had a final Naval briefing scheduled for nine, then a stop at the bank to transfer control of the New Hope's operating capital to Matt Davies, followed by a visit to the office to sign papers leaving him as acting chairman of the board, and at eleven, what I hoped would be a brief audience with the U.P.
Fiction book (1991) -
The business is on track to make a profit, but the owners have run out of operating capital.
Blog text (12) -
My Sheik, I will need jUst a little operating capital.
-
Ile sells only to maintain operating capital.
Fiction book (1990) -
The operating capital, of course, came from investors in the East, and there has now been written an official history of the mine, which is long on the accomplishments of the investors and managers but short on the lives of the men who mined the ore.
Academic text (1990) -
"He's stiffed more suckers than Wall Street." "And you know, Shifty," Jay had said to me another time, "unless at least twenty percent of your operating capital is riding on some horse, it's really not appropriate to make a spectacle of yourself in rooting your animal home."
Fiction book (1990) -
The business is on track to make a profit, but the owners have run out of operating capital.
-
Will your operating capital come from your savings account, or will you require a personal loan?
Synonyms
726
3.4
Money or property used to start and grow a business
5
4.4
Money and things a business can use to pay day-to-day costs
How Much
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'money used in day-to-day operations' is directly and predictably built from 'operate' (to run/manage operations) + 'capital' (funds). The modifier 'operating' indicates the purpose or use of the capital, a transparent compositional pattern common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can reliably infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Operating capital comes from the idea of money as the fuel that keeps a business 'running': operating means 'running' day-to-day and capital means 'money' or resources. That's why it refers to the money used for daily costs like pay, rent, and supplies.