Tra từ interest - Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

inter·est [interest interests interested interesting] noun, verb BrE [ˈɪntrəst] NAmE [ˈɪntrəst] BrE [ˈɪntrest] NAmE [ˈɪntrest]
noun

WANTING TO KNOW MORE
1. singular, uncountable ~ (in sb/sth) the feeling that you have when you want to know or learn more about sb/sth
•to feel/have/show/express (an) interest in sth
• Do your parents take an interest in your friends?
•By that time I had lost (all) interest in the idea.
• I watched with interest.
•As a matter of interest (= I'd like to know), what time did the party finish?
•Just out of interest, how much did it cost?
compare ↑disinterest

ATTRACTION
2. uncountable the quality that sth has when it attracts sb's attention or makes them want to know more about it
• There are many places of interest near the city.
• The subject is of no interest to me at all.
•These plants will add interest to your garden in winter.
•These documents are of great historical interest.
•to be of cultural/scientific interest
•This museum holds particular interest for geologists.
see also ↑human interest, ↑love interest

HOBBY
3. countable an activity or a subject that you enjoy and that you spend your free time doing or studying
• Her main interests are music and tennis.
• He was a man of wide interests outside his work.
compare ↑hobby

MONEY
4. uncountable ~ (on sth) (finance)the extra money that you pay back when you borrow money or that you receive when you invest money
•to pay interest on a loan
• The money was repaid with interest.
•interest charges/payments
•Interest rates have risen by 1%.
•high rates of interest
see also ↑compound interest, ↑simple interest

ADVANTAGE
5. countable, usually plural, uncountable a good result or an advantage for sb/sth
•to promote/protect/safeguard sb's interests
•She was acting entirely in her own interests.
•These reforms were in the best interests of local government.
•It is in the public interest that these facts are made known.
see also ↑self-interest

SHARE IN BUSINESS
6. countable, usually plural ~ (in sth) a share in a business or company and its profits
•She has business interests in France.
•American interests in Europe (= money invested in European countries)
see also ↑controlling interest

CONNECTION
7. countable, uncountable ~ (in sth) a connection with sth which affects your attitude to it, especially because you may benefit from it in some way
•I should, at this point, declare my interest.
•Organizations have an interest in ensuring that employee motivation is high.
compare ↑disinterest
see also ↑vested interest

GROUP OF PEOPLE
8. countable, usually plural a group of people who are in the same business or who share the same aims which they want to protect
•powerful farming interests
•relationships between local government and business interests
more at conflict of interest(s) at ↑conflict _n.

Word Origin:
late Middle English (originally as interess): from Anglo-Norman French interesse, from Latin interesse ‘differ, be important’, from inter- ‘between’ + esse ‘be’. The -t was added partly by association with Old French interest ‘damage, loss’, apparently from Latin interest ‘it is important’. The original sense was ‘the possession of a share in or a right to something’; hence sense 6. Sense 1 and the verb arose in the 18th cent. Sense 4 was influenced by medieval Latin interesse ‘compensation for a debtor's defaulting’.

Thesaurus:
interest noun
1. sing., U
•She showed no interest in the conversation.
attention • • notice • • concentration • |formal regard •
close/media/personal/special interest/attention
catch/get/grab/lose sb's interest/attention
hold/focus sb's interest/attention/concentration
2. U, sing.
•There are many places of interest around Oxford.
attraction • • appeal • • fascination • • magic • • glamour • • charm • • spell •
a/an interest/attraction/appeal/fascination for sb/sth
have (a/an) interest/attraction/appeal/fascination/magic/glamour/charm
hold (a/an) interest/attraction/appeal/fascination/magic/charm
3. C
•Her main interests are music and gardening.
hobby • • pastime •
a popular interest/hobby/pastime
have/share interests/hobbies
take up/pursue a/an interest/hobby
interest, hobby or pastime? A hobby is often more active than an interest:
•His main hobby is football (= he plays football).
• His main interest is football (= he watches and reads about football, and may or may not play it).
Pastime is used when talking about people in general; when you are talking about yourself or an individual it is more usual to use interest or hobby:
•Eating out is the national pastime in France.
✗ Eating out is the national hobby/interest in France.
4. U (finance)
•The Gold Account pays monthly interest of 5.5%.
profit • • earnings • • dividend • • return • • surplus • |often disapproving gain •
(a) interest/profitearnings/dividend/return/surplus/gain on/from sth
pay interest/a dividend
a rate of interest/return

Synonyms:
interest
hobby • game • pastime
These are all words for activities that you do for pleasure in your spare time.
interest • an activity or a subject that you do or study for pleasure in your spare time: ▪ Her main interests are music and gardening.
hobby • an activity that you do for pleasure in your spare time: ▪ His hobbies include swimming and cooking.
game • a children's activity when they play with toys, pretend to be sb else, etc; an activity that you do to have fun: ▪ a game of cops and robbers ◇ ▪ He was playing games with the dog.
pastime • an activity that people do for pleasure in their spare time: ▪ Eating out is the national pastime in France.
interest, hobby or pastime?
A hobby is often more active than an interest: ▪ His main hobby is football ▪ (= he plays football) ▪. ◇ ▪ His main interest is football ▪ (= he watches and reads about football, and may or may not play it) ▪. Pastime is used when talking about people in general; when you are talking about yourself or an individual person it is more usual to use interest or hobby: Eating out is the national interest/hobby in France. ◇ Do you have any pastimes?
a popular interest/hobby/pastime
to have/share interests/hobbies
to take up/pursue a(n) interest/hobby

Example Bank:
•A childhood trip to Europe sparked his lifelong interest in history.
•A sticker on a bag caught my interest.
•Although he was sometimes too strict with his children, he had their best interests at heart.
•Angelina Jolie supplies the love interest in the film.
•Bushes that flower in winter will add interest to your garden.
•Continuing such a policy is short-sighted and not in the interest of consumers.
•Despite intensive publicity, Channel 4 failed to maintain interest in its expensive new show.
•He claimed to be acting in the public interest.
•He has controlling interests in several ventures.
•He has many hobbies and outside interests.
•He showed a polite interest in her story.
•He wanted time to pursue his many and varied musical interests.
•He was obviously acting purely out of selfish interest.
•He's never shown the slightest interest in football.
•Her comments are of particular interest to me.
•His books are of no interest to me at all.
•I feel it is in everyone's best interest if I step aside now.
•I'll watch the programme with added interest now I know you're in it.
•I'm asking purely out of interest.
•It's not in your best interests to let your boss know you're looking for a new job.
•Lawyers have a direct financial interest in the outcome of the debate.
•My cousin expressed an interest in seeing where I work.
•My main research interest is herbal medicine.
•New work practices were introduced in the interests of efficiency.
•One member of the planning committee had a conflict of interest as he lived near the proposed road.
•Protectionism often simply supports narrow vested interests.
•She always had a great interest in the supernatural.
•She feigned interest in a magazine article to avoid meeting the man's stare.
•She took an active interest in their welfare.
•Since the championship has already been decided, this game is of purely academic interest.
•The CD-ROM gives the book added interest.
•The children's interest began to flag after half an hour of the lesson.
•The event attracted a lot of media interest.
•The film kept my interest throughout.
•The government failed to drum up any public interest in the referendum.
•The interest of the painting lies in its unusual use of colour.
•The lawyer refused to act against his client's interests.
•The police were starting to take a close interest in the company's activities.
•The union refused to support proposals that it saw as contrary to the interests of its members.
•The views of special-interest groups are represented.
•Their conversation held no interest for me.
•They listened with interest.
•This information was of no immediate interest to me.
•Various interest groups have expressed their opposition to the policy.
•We met to discuss matters of common interest.
•While in prison he developed an interest in art.
•Why the sudden interest?
•You can't blame them for looking after their own interests.
•a building of great architectural interest
•a mortgage with a fixed rate of interest
•a plot devoid of human interest
•growing interest from younger members
•issues of compelling strategic interest
•narrow sectional interests
•to stimulate interest among teachers
•As a matter of interest what time did the party finish?
•By that time I had lost all interest in the project.
•Does she take an interest in your research?
•Find a bank that has very low interest charges on overdrafts.
•He showed no more than a passing interest in the sport.
•Her main interests are music and gardening.
•His books have a special interest for me.
•I should, at this point, declare my interest.
•I told him about it but he showed no interest.
•Interest rates have risen by 1%.
•Just out of interest, how much did it cost?
•Several people expressed an interest in learning the game.
•The Gold Account pays monthly interest of 5.5%.
•The money was repaid with interest.
•There are many places of interest around Oxford.
•These plants will add interest to your garden.
•They're paying 16% interest on the loan.
Idioms: ↑do something with interest ▪ ↑have somebody's interests at heart ▪ ↑in the interest of something
Derived: ↑interest somebody in something

verb
to attract your attention and make you feel interested; to make yourself give your attention to sth
•~ sb Politics doesn't interest me.
• The museum has something to interest everyone, young and old.
•~ sb/yourself in sth She has always interested herself in charity work.
•it interests sb to do sth It may interest you to know that Andy didn't accept the job.
Verb forms:

Word Origin:
late Middle English (originally as interess): from Anglo-Norman French interesse, from Latin interesse ‘differ, be important’, from inter- ‘between’ + esse ‘be’. The -t was added partly by association with Old French interest ‘damage, loss’, apparently from Latin interest ‘it is important’. The original sense was ‘the possession of a share in or a right to something’; hence sense 6. Sense 1 and the verb arose in the 18th cent. Sense 4 was influenced by medieval Latin interesse ‘compensation for a debtor's defaulting’.

Thesaurus:
interest verb T
•Politics just doesn't interest me.
appeal • • attract • • fascinate • • intrigue • • absorb • • rivet • • grip • |especially written captivate • • enthral • • entrance •
a question/subject interests/fascinates/intrigues sb

Example Bank:
•It is this aspect of the work that really interests me.
•She tried to interest the director in her plan.
•It may interest you to know that he didn't accept the offer.
•Politics just doesn't interest me.
•She has always interested herself in helping younger musicians.
•The musuem has something to interest everyone.
•The topic interests me very much.