goodwill

noun

good·​will ˌgu̇d-ˈwil How to pronounce goodwill (audio)
1
a
: a kindly feeling of approval and support : benevolent interest or concern
people of goodwill
b(1)
: the favor or advantage that a business has acquired especially through its brands and its good reputation
(2)
: the value of projected earnings increases of a business especially as part of its purchase price
(3)
: the excess of the purchase price of a company over its book value which represents the value of goodwill as an intangible asset for accounting purposes
2
a
: cheerful consent
accepted the terms of the contract with goodwill
b
: willing effort
good-willed adjective
or less commonly goodwilled

Examples of goodwill in a Sentence

She has goodwill toward all her coworkers. They allowed him to keep the extra money as a gesture of goodwill.
Recent Examples on the Web There are people of goodwill who think the way out of this insupportable situation lies in the fight for equal democratic rights in a single state for everyone living in the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Michelle Goldberg, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2024 Huge amounts of curiosity, huge amounts of goodwill. Nell Lewis, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024 The bank changed its fourth-quarter loss to $2.7 billion due to a $2.4 billion goodwill charge linked to historical transactions from 2007 and earlier, according to an SEC filing. Luisa Beltran, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2024 By actively engaging with stakeholders, sharing insights and championing company values, a C-level executive can build the kind of trust, credibility and goodwill that bolsters a business’ reputation in the eyes of the public. Expert Panel®, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 Killer Mike thanked his fans for their goodwill messages. Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Feb. 2024 The goodwill earned in your previous role may not translate into your new one but try not to take it personally. Ebony Flake, Essence, 5 Feb. 2024 And plenty of goodwill is generated in Downtown Nashville barroom conversations, one of the fundamentals of CRS that hasn’t changed all that much. Tom Roland, Billboard, 6 Mar. 2024 The filing late Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission included a $2.4 billion goodwill impairment charge, meaning that the bank is reassessing the value of its assets. Michelle Chapman, Quartz, 1 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'goodwill.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of goodwill was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near goodwill

Cite this Entry

“Goodwill.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/goodwill. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

goodwill

noun
good·​will -ˈwil How to pronounce goodwill (audio)
1
: kindly feeling : benevolence
2
: the value of the trade a business has built up
3
a
: cheerful consent
b
: willing effort

Legal Definition

goodwill

noun
good·​will ˈgu̇d-ˌwil How to pronounce goodwill (audio)
1
: an intangible asset that is made up of the favor or prestige which a business has acquired beyond the mere value of what it sells due to the personality or experience of those conducting it, their reputation for skill or dependability, the business's location, or any other circumstance incidental to the business that tends to draw and retain customers
2
a
: the value of projected increases in the earnings of a business especially as part of its purchase price
b
: the excess of the purchase price of a business above the value assigned for tax purposes to its other net assets

Note: The Internal Revenue Code requires the purchaser of a business to allocate the purchase price among the various types of assets. Frequently the purchase price is greater than the sum of the values of the individual assets. The excess is labeled goodwill. Because of its indefinite life, goodwill is not amortizable as an asset. The purchaser will therefore usually try to keep the allocation to goodwill as small as possible.

More from Merriam-Webster on goodwill

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