# Investopedia API

> Investopedia explains finance, business, and investing terms as a workflow and API.

Investopedia, also known as Investopedia Dictionary, defines a finance, business, or investing term using its matching dictionary article. Define term needs a word or phrase and can return the definition, key points, examples, author, related terms, and review date when available.

- Page: https://fous.com/tools/investopedia
- Handle: `@investopedia`
- Category: [Finance](https://fous.com/tools/category/finance)
- Source website: https://investopedia.com
- Last verified: Sep 29, 2026

## Methods

### Define term

Operation `define_term`, version 1. 1 credit per completed call. Failed calls without a completed billing receipt are free; completed work can remain charged if delivery is interrupted.

Explain a finance, business, or investing term using its matching Investopedia dictionary article. Some uncommon terms may not have a dedicated article.

**Input**

| Field | Type | Required | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `term` | string | yes | `"P/E ratio"` | Finance, business, or investing word or phrase to define, for example EBITDA. |

**Input schema**

```json
{
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "term"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "term": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Finance, business, or investing word or phrase to define, for example EBITDA.",
      "examples": [
        "P/E ratio",
        "EBITDA",
        "401(k)"
      ]
    }
  },
  "additionalProperties": false,
  "examples": [
    {
      "term": "P/E ratio"
    },
    {
      "term": "EBITDA"
    },
    {
      "term": "401(k)"
    }
  ]
}
```

**Output**

| Field | Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `term` | string | `"Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio"` | Term as titled in the article. |
| `author` | string or null | `"Jason Fernando"` | Article author, if credited. |
| `example` | string or null |  | Article example, if one is present. |
| `article_link` | string | `"https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/price-earningsratio.asp"` | Link to the Investopedia article. |
| `key_takeaways` | array |  | Main points from the article. |
| `related_terms` | array |  | Up to 10 linked terms from the article. |
| `related_terms[].link` | string | `"https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/businesscycle.asp"` |  |
| `related_terms[].name` | string | `"business cycles"` |  |
| `full_explanation` | string |  | Plain-text article explanation, up to 4000 characters. |
| `short_definition` | string | `"The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio measures a company's share price relative to its earnings per share (EPS). Often call` | The first one or two sentences of the article’s definition. |
| `last_reviewed_or_updated_date` | string or null | `"2026-04-15"` | Last updated date, YYYY-MM-DD, if available. |

**Example input**

```json
{
  "term": "P/E ratio"
}
```

**Example output**

```json
{
  "term": "Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio",
  "author": "Jason Fernando",
  "example": "Let's clarify this with an example, looking at FedEx Corporation ( FDX ). We can calculate the P/E ratio for FDX as of Aug. 8, 2025, when the company's stock price closed at $228.05. The company's EPS…",
  "article_link": "https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/price-earningsratio.asp",
  "key_takeaways": [
    "The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is the proportion of a company's share price to its earnings per share (EPS).",
    "A high P/E ratio could mean that a company's stock is overvalued or that investors expect high growth rates.",
    "Companies with no earnings or that are losing money don't have a P/E ratio because there's nothing to put in the denominator."
  ],
  "related_terms": [
    {
      "link": "https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/businesscycle.asp",
      "name": "business cycles"
    },
    {
      "link": "https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/forwardpe.asp",
      "name": "forward P/E"
    },
    {
      "link": "https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/trailingpe.asp",
      "name": "trailing P/E"
    }
  ],
  "full_explanation": "What Is the Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio?\n\nThe price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio measures a company's share price relative to its earnings per share (EPS). Often called the price or earnings multiple, th…",
  "short_definition": "The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio measures a company's share price relative to its earnings per share (EPS). Often called the price or earnings multiple, the P/E ratio helps assess the relative value …",
  "last_reviewed_or_updated_date": "2026-04-15"
}
```

## Quick start

Replace `YOUR_API_KEY` with a Fous API key. To create one, open Developers at the bottom of Fous Studio, turn on Developer mode, then go to API keys (https://app.fous.com/keys). Change the values in `input` to run the same tool on new data.

```bash
curl 'https://api.fous.com/v1/query' \
  --fail-with-body --silent --show-error --max-time 180 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-raw '{
  "api": "@investopedia",
  "visibility": "public",
  "operation": "define_term",
  "version": 1,
  "input": {
    "term": "P/E ratio"
  },
  "response": {
    "format": "json"
  }
}'
```

```python
# Save as fous.py and run with python3 fous.py. No packages needed.
import json
import urllib.error
import urllib.request

api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY"

body = json.loads("{\n  \"api\": \"@investopedia\",\n  \"visibility\": \"public\",\n  \"operation\": \"define_term\",\n  \"version\": 1,\n  \"input\": {\n    \"term\": \"P/E ratio\"\n  },\n  \"response\": {\n    \"format\": \"json\"\n  }\n}")
request = urllib.request.Request(
    "https://api.fous.com/v1/query",
    data=json.dumps(body).encode("utf-8"),
    headers={
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {api_key}",
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
    method="POST",
)
try:
    with urllib.request.urlopen(request, timeout=180) as response:
        result = json.load(response)
except urllib.error.HTTPError as error:
    raise RuntimeError(f"HTTP {error.code}: {error.read().decode('utf-8', errors='replace')}") from error
if result.get("success") is False:
    raise RuntimeError(result.get("error", {}).get("message", "Request failed"))
print(json.dumps(result["data"]["output"], indent=2))
```

```typescript
// Save as fous.mts and run with npx tsx fous.mts.
const apiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY";

const response = await fetch("https://api.fous.com/v1/query", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Authorization": `Bearer ${apiKey}`,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  signal: AbortSignal.timeout(180_000),
  body: JSON.stringify({
  "api": "@investopedia",
  "visibility": "public",
  "operation": "define_term",
  "version": 1,
  "input": {
    "term": "P/E ratio"
  },
  "response": {
    "format": "json"
  }
}),
});
type ApiResult = { success: boolean; data?: { output: unknown }; error?: { message: string } };
const result: ApiResult = await response.json();
if (!response.ok || result.success === false) {
  throw new Error(result.error?.message ?? `HTTP ${response.status}`);
}
if (!result.data) throw new Error("Missing API response data");
console.log(result.data.output);
```

## Use from an AI assistant

Connect this tool to Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Codex and any MCP client as its own MCP server. Each method is a typed tool whose arguments are the method’s input.

- Server URL: `https://api.fous.com/mcp/tools/investopedia`
- Authorization: `Authorization: Bearer <Fous API key>`

**Tools**

- `define_term`: Define term. 1 credit per completed call. Failed calls without a completed billing receipt are free; completed work can remain charged if delivery is interrupted.
- `fous_get_run`: the result of a run that was still going, by its `request_id`. Free.

Claude Code:

```bash
claude mcp add --scope user --transport http fous-investopedia https://api.fous.com/mcp/tools/investopedia --header "Authorization: Bearer ${FOUS_API_KEY:?Set FOUS_API_KEY to your Fous API key}"
```

To give the assistant every tool, connect `https://api.fous.com/mcp`: it finds one with `fous_search_tools` and runs it with `fous_run_tool`. Setup for other clients: https://fous.com/llms-full.txt.

## Use cases

- Explain finance terms to customers
- Help employees understand investing vocabulary
- Add definitions to financial research
- Find related business terms

## FAQ

### Can I run it with my own inputs?

Yes. Change the inputs in Studio and press Run, or send new inputs from your code, or ask a connected AI assistant.

### Can I call this Investopedia tool as an API?

Yes. Send a POST request to /v1/query with your Fous API key and the inputs, and get JSON back.

### How much does it cost?

Each completed run costs 1 credit. Failed runs without a completed receipt are free; completed work can remain charged if delivery is interrupted. With pay as you go, a credit costs 1¢. Monthly plans cost less per credit.

### Do I need a Investopedia account?

No. You only need a Fous account.

### How current is the data?

Fous gets the data from investopedia.com when you run it. Some results are reused for up to 24 hours, and results that use your account or key are never reused. It was last verified on Sep 29, 2026.

### What does a finance or investing term mean?

Define term returns a short definition and a fuller explanation from the matching Investopedia dictionary article.

### What are the key points about a term?

Define term returns the article’s key takeaways when available.

### Which terms are related to this one?

Define term returns up to 10 linked related terms from the article.

## Related

- [Wiktionary API](https://fous.com/tools/wiktionary.md): A free, multilingual dictionary with word meanings and language information.
- [Dictionary.com API](https://fous.com/tools/dictionary-com.md): Dictionary.com provides definitions, pronunciations, audio, examples, and word origins, plus ranked synonyms and antonyms for public Thesaurus.com entries; some word details may be unavailable.
- [Urban Dictionary API](https://fous.com/tools/urban-dictionary.md): Urban Dictionary provides crowdsourced slang definitions and examples, plus up to 30 newest Words of the Day with featured dates.
- [Cambridge Dictionary API](https://fous.com/tools/cambridge-dictionary.md): Cambridge Dictionary provides English definitions, examples, grammar labels, and available UK and US pronunciations, plus translations and paired examples for supported languages, reflecting details shown on its pages.
- [Merriam-Webster API](https://fous.com/tools/merriam-webster.md): Merriam-Webster provides definitions, pronunciations, examples, word histories, synonyms, antonyms, and related words for publicly listed entries, plus Word of the Day entries for today or published archive dates.
- [Etymonline API](https://fous.com/tools/etymonline.md): Origins and histories of English words from the Online Etymology Dictionary.
- [Finviz API](https://fous.com/tools/finviz.md): Finviz provides delayed US stock snapshots, screening by company and trading criteria, and up to 200 recent public executive and director Form 4 trades.
- [Yahoo Finance API](https://fous.com/tools/yahoo-finance.md): Yahoo Finance provides quotes, movers, company financials, analyst ratings, earnings, news, and up to 5,000 price rows with adjusted returns; prices may be delayed.
- [All Finance tools](https://fous.com/tools/category/finance)