interest

noun

1. a diversion that occupies one's time and thoughts (usually pleasantly)

e.g. sailing is her favorite pastime
his main pastime is gambling
he counts reading among his interests
they criticized the boy for his limited pursuits

Synonym: pastimepursuit

2. a reason for wanting something done

e.g. for your sake
died for the sake of his country
in the interest of safety
in the common interest

Synonym: sake

3. the power of attracting or holding one's attention (because it is unusual or exciting etc.)

e.g. they said nothing of great interest
primary colors can add interest to a room

Synonym: interestingness

4. a sense of concern with and curiosity about someone or something

e.g. an interest in music

Synonym: involvement

5. (usually plural) a social group whose members control some field of activity and who have common aims

e.g. the iron interests stepped up production

Synonym: interest group

6. (law) a right or legal share of something
a financial involvement with something

e.g. they have interests all over the world
a stake in the company's future

Synonym: stake

7. a fixed charge for borrowing money
usually a percentage of the amount borrowed

e.g. how much interest do you pay on your mortgage?

verb

1. excite the curiosity of
engage the interest of

2. be on the mind of

e.g. I worry about the second Germanic consonant shift

Synonym: concernoccupyworry

3. be of importance or consequence

e.g. This matters to me!

Synonym: matter to

1. 兴趣;兴味;关注
If you have an interest in something, you want to learn or hear more about it.

e.g. There has been a lively interest in the elections in the last two weeks...
近两周来选举受到了热烈关注。
e.g. His parents tried to discourage his interest in music, but he persisted...
他的父母设法打消他对音乐的兴趣,但他始终坚持。

2. 爱好
Your interests are the things that you enjoy doing.

e.g. Encourage your child in her interests and hobbies even if they're things that you know little about...
要鼓励孩子的兴趣爱好，即使你对它们所知甚少。
e.g. He developed a wide range of sporting interests as a pupil at Millfield.
他在米尔菲尔德私立学校上学的时候培养了广泛的运动爱好。

3. 使感兴趣;引起…的关注
If something interests you, it attracts your attention so that you want to learn or hear more about it or continue doing it.

e.g. That passage interested me because it seems to parallel very closely what you're doing in the novel...
那一段引起了我的关注，因为它似乎与你在小说里所采用的手法非常相似。
e.g. It may interest you to know that Miss Woods, the housekeeper, witnessed the attack.
您或许会有兴趣知道管家伍兹小姐目击了袭击过程。

4. 劝诱;说服(某人)做(某事)
If you are trying to persuade someone to buy or do something, you can say that you are trying to interest them in it.

interest

e.g. In the meantime I can't interest you in a new car, I suppose?...
那么我想这时候我不能说服您买辆新车了？
e.g. The group wasn't able to interest them in reproducing literature specifically for women.
这个团体没能说服他们再版专门面向女性的文学作品。

5. 利益;福利
If something is in the interests of a particular person or group, it will benefit them in some way.

e.g. Did those directors act in the best interests of their club?...
那些董事行事时是以他们俱乐部的最大利益为出发点吗？
e.g. The social worker would try to get her to see she was acting against the boy's interests.
这位社会工作者会设法让她明白她这么做对这个男孩没有好处。

6. 利益相关者;利益集团
You can use interests to refer to groups of people who you think use their power or money to benefit themselves.

e.g. The government accused unnamed 'foreign interests' of inciting the trouble...
政府不指名地谴责“外国利益集团”煽动骚乱。
e.g. He resigned as finance minister only weeks before the election and stood against big-business interests.
他在大选到来仅几周前辞去了财政部长职务,并抵制大公司利益集团。

7. 权益;股权;产权
A person or organization that has interests in a company or in a particular type of business owns shares in this company or this type of business.

e.g. Her other business interests include a theme park in Scandinavia and hotels in the West Country.
她其他的公司股权包括斯堪的纳维亚的一个主题游乐园和英格兰西南部的几家酒店。
e.g. ...the Hatch family, who controlled large dairy interests...
掌控大量奶业股权的哈奇家族

8. 利害关系
If a person, country, or organization has an interest in a possible event or situation, they want that event or situation to happen because they are likely to benefit from it.

e.g. The West has an interest in promoting democratic forces in Eastern Europe...
东欧民主力量的发展与西方国家利害攸关。
e.g. Domestic consumers of petroleum products have an interest in a secure source of petroleum products.
石油产品的国内消费者希望其来源能够获得保障。

9. 利息
Interest is extra money that you receive if you have invested a sum of money. Interest is also the extra money that you pay if you have borrowed money or are buying something on credit.

e.g. Does your current account pay interest?...
你的活期账户有利息吗？
e.g. This is an important step toward lower interest rates.
这是向较低利率迈出的重要一步。

10. see also: interested;interesting;compound interest;self-interest;vested interest

11. 为了（或符合)…的利益;有助于
If you do something in the interests of a particular result or situation, you do it in order to achieve that result or maintain that situation.

e.g. ...a call for all businessmen to work together in the interests of national stability.
呼吁所有商人为了国家稳定而团结协作