1. 1. The annual payment of an allowance or income.
   2. The right to receive this payment or the obligation to make this payment.
2. A contract or agreement by which one receives fixed payments on an investment for a lifetime or for a specified number of years.

[Middle English annuite, from Anglo-Norman, from Medieval Latin annuitās, from Latin annuus, yearly, from annus, year.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.