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sweat equity

sweat equity

2 6.7
Value you earn by working on a house or business yourself
  • noun
  • /swɛt ˈɛkwɪti/
  • Jargon
translation icon : capital de trabajo
  • Grassroots initiatives and the sweat equity by association members are the keys to resolving the challenges.
  • lots of sweat equity
  • put in sweat equity
  • hours of sweat equity

I did it for what's called the sweat equity.

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Examples

  • The owner was doing sweat equity in order to stretch the grant money to its limit.

    Academic text (1994)
  • We found this truck in Washington State, and the previous owner had spent thousands of dollars and hours of sweat equity bringing this truck to its current condition.

    Blog text (6)
  • People who buy into a project with sweat equity are committed to making it work.

    Academic text (2011)
  • It's a great example of people putting in some sweat equity to improve their neighborhood.

    Blog text (3)
  • The settlers of the area continued to invest "sweat equity" in their houses long after the original structures had been built.

    Academic text (1991)
  • We had a bunch of volunteers and people were willing to put sweat equity in and they just got started and tried to make it work.

  • Walsh believes that this is important because the students appreciate the "sweat equity" behind the money they are investing and see the importance of achieving a return.

    Academic text (2003)
  • At South, the athletic department has gotten creative with ways to help students pay athletic fees—by using sweat equity.

    Blog text (6)
  • It represents the culmination of nearly four years of sweat equity overcoming hurdles, roadblocks, and naysayers.

    Blog text (26)
  • Many new homeowners invest their time and energy as sweat equity to improve their houses.

Synonyms

stake
vssweat equity
406 4.2

A share in a business or project

is obtained through personal work rather than through buying a financial share
equity
vssweat equity
  • Specialized
173 5.4

The value of what you own in a house or company after you pay off debts

is acquired by working on the property rather than by paying money

How Much

sweat equity
  • Jargon
2 6.7
stake
406 4.2
ownership
187 2.5

Surface Forms

sweat equity singular

Morphology

sweat + equity

The meaning 'ownership or value earned by working rather than investing money' is directly derivable from combining 'sweat' (effort/work) with 'equity' (ownership stake). This compositional metaphor (work producing an ownership stake) follows straightforward logic and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents, even if the phrase appears in a business context.

Etymology

Sweat equity comes from the picture of hard work: your sweat makes the equity, or the 'value' and 'ownership', in a house or business grow. So, it means the 'value' you earn by working on something yourself rather than by paying money.