Investor vs. invester: which spelling should you use? You will be shocked to know the number of people that do not know the answer to this question. Many will give a wrong answer, but you no longer have to guess going forward because we will answer the question in this post.
The word investor is a noun for a person or company that puts money into a financial scheme, property, invention, or business idea while hoping to profit from the initial investment. In contrast, the word invester is a common misspelling of the word investor. Hence, it is not a real or correct word.
The confusion between the words investor and investor comes from the fact most verbs take on the suffix “er” to indicate the performer of the action. For example, the word teach becomes teacher and play becomes player. That notwithstanding, keep it here to learn more about the definition, usage, and differences of the words investor and invester.
Definitions Of Investor And Invester
The words invester and investor come from the agent verb “invest.” So, let us start this section by defining the word invest, so the rest of the content is easy to understand. The word invest is a verb that means “to put money or resources into something that offers potential profitable returns, like an interest or an appreciation in value.”
Let’s look at a sentence example, “The Gomez family invested their inheritance in real estate and made over a million dollars in half a year.” Another meaning of the word invest is “to use money or resources to accumulate something.” For example, in a sentence, “George will invest in a large sum of books for the initiative.”
The third meaning of invest is “to give or devote time, talent, or financial resources for a particular purpose or to achieve something.” For example, “Mrs. Jane asked us to invest time cleaning up the neighborhood after the disaster.” Now that you understand the meaning of “invest,” let us get into the meanings of invester and investor.
Definition Of Investor
An investor is a person or an organization that puts resources or money into a financial scheme, property, idea, or business while expecting a profit or value appreciation in return. Here is an example in a sentence, “The foreign investor came into the country for a corporate meeting.”
The second meaning of “investor” is a person who commits resources like time, money, ideas, or physical work into something while aiming to achieve a greater goal or a specific purpose.” Let us look at an example sentence: “Jane broke up with Sam because she could not live her whole life as the investor in the relationship.”
Other sources define an investor as someone who invests money to make a profit or someone who commits financial capital to gain financial returns. For example, in a sentence, “The investor made more than a billion dollars in half a decade.”
Another source defines an investor as “someone who endows someone else with authority or power.” For example, in a sentence, “Thanks to the constitutional investor, congress has the power to preside over matters to do with the law.”
Definition Of Invester
This word does not have a clear definition. According to most sources, invester is a misspelling of the word investor. Therefore, it is not a recognized English word.
However, when some people use it, the intended meaning is usually similar to “investor.” Here is an example of how people use this misspelling of “investor:” “The brothers met the invester yesterday morning at the Hilton hotel.”
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How To Properly Use Investor And Invester In A Sentence
The content above explains that “invester” is a misspelling of the word “investor.” So, now that you know this, we can look at guidelines for correctly using these words in sentences.
How To Use The Word Investor
Use this word as a noun in a sentence in the following contexts:
- Referring to a person who invests money to gain financial profit. For example, “Jane is an avid investor.”
- A person who gives support, primarily financial, to another person, an organization, or a course. For example, “The meeting did not happen because the investor did not show up.”
- A person who invests or lends financial support to make money. For example, “The investor lost thousands of dollars from the deal.”
- A person with a vested interest in a particular course. For example, “Sarah refuses to be an investor in the course again after last year’s scandals.”
- A person who invests in financial markets because of speculation. For example, “The Trumps are major investors in the stock market.”
Since the term acts as a noun, use its plural form, “investors.” Let’s look at a sentence example, “The investors showed up two hours late and did not apologize for their tardiness.”
How To Use The Word Invester
Since this word is incorrect, you should not use it in sentences. Instead, it would be wise to master the correct spelling of “investor.”
Investor Vs. Invester: More Considerations When Using These Words
Now that you know the correct word between the two, let’s look at some other essential things you should understand. For instance, what is the origin of the confusion most people experience with these words? Let’s learn more below.
The Wrong Suffix
The difference between these words is the suffix. The word invester has the suffix “er,” while the investor has “or.” The English language has some suffixes relating to people or someone who performs an action denoted by a verb. For instance, the person who teaches is a teacher. However, other suffixes, like “-or,” “-ist,” and “-ian,” are also accepted noun suffixes related to a person.
So, not all verbs take the suffix “er” to become a noun. This is the case with the word investor. This word stems from the verb “invest.” So, someone who participates in investing is an investor, not an invester.
The History Of The Words
Another cause of contention for these words is their history. The word investor stems from the Latin root, “investire.” It is easy to assume that invester is the correct form because it sounds more similar to investire than investor.
Examples Of Investor And Invester Use In Sentences
The best part about learning new words is using them in sentences. Now that you know the difference between the words invester and investor, you should have no problem using them in sentences. However, let us look at some examples with the word investor because that’s the right form:
Example sentences of the word investor
- The investor will arrive in the country at noon and come to the office three hours later.
- Jacky and Hellen spoke to the potential investor over the phone yesterday.
- John needs a new investor for her business before the end of the month.
- Before signing the contract, the investor talked to the staff and found out about the company’s malpractices.
- Samuel complained to the investor about the poor communication skills of his management team.
- The investor will provide capital for the event.
- The team will meet the investor tonight.
- Our investor backed out of the deal at the final moment.
- I do not intend to become an investor in your project.
- The investor will arrive at the meeting at around noon.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that the word invester is a misspelling of the word investor. So, you will not find it in any English dictionary. Like investor, other English words that people often misspell exist. Learn more about some of these words from our earlier posts.
Shawn Manaher is the founder and CEO of The Content Authority. He’s one part content manager, one part writing ninja organizer, and two parts leader of top content creators. You don’t even want to know what he calls pancakes.