noun pl. equities -·ties

1. fairness; impartiality; justice
2. anything that is fair or equitable
3. ☆ the value of property beyond the total amount owed on it in mortgages, liens, etc.
4. Accounting, Finance
   1. assets minus liabilities; net worth; capital
   2. that portion of a company's net worth belonging to its owners or shareholders shareholders' equity
   3. shares of stock bonds and equities
5. Law
   1. resort to general principles of fairness and justice whenever existing law is inadequate
   2. a system of rules and doctrines, as in the U.S., supplementing common and statute law and superseding such law when it proves inadequate for just settlement
   3. a right or claim recognized in a court of equity
   4. equity of redemption

Etymology: ME equite < OFr équité < L aequitas, equality < aequus: see equal

adjective