1. (

• interest ,
• involvement

) a sense of concern with and curiosity about someone or something; "an interest in music" ;

2. (

• sake ,
• interest ,

) a reason for wanting something done; "for your sake"; "died for the sake of his country"; "in the interest of safety"; "in the common interest" ;

3. (

• interest ,
• interestingness

) the power of attracting or holding one's attention (because it is unusual or exciting etc.); "they said nothing of great interest"; "primary colors can add interest to a room" ;

4. (

• interest

) a fixed charge for borrowing money; usually a percentage of the amount borrowed; "how much interest do you pay on your mortgage?" ;

5. (

• interest ,
• stake ,

) (law) a right or legal share of something; a financial involvement with something; "they have interests all over the world"; "a stake in the company's future" ;

6. (

• interest ,
• interest_group

) (usually plural) a social group whose members control some field of activity and who have common aims; "the iron interests stepped up production" ;

7. (

• pastime ,
• interest ,
• pursuit ,

) a diversion that occupies one's time and thoughts (usually pleasantly); "sailing is her favorite pastime"; "his main pastime is gambling"; "he counts reading among his interests"; "they criticized the boy for his limited pursuits" ;

1. (

• interest

) excite the curiosity of; engage the interest of ;

2. (

• concern ,
• interest ,
• occupy ,
• worry

) be on the mind of; "I worry about the second Germanic consonant shift" ;

3. (

• matter_to ,
• interest

) be of importance or consequence; "This matters to me!" ;