chump change

American  

noun

1. Slang. a small or insignificant amount of money.

---

chump change Idioms  

1. A trivial sum of money, a trivial matter. For example, Dave was sick of working for chump change; he wanted a decent salary, or Don't put that on the agenda; it's chump change. This expression uses chump in the sense of “a fool or sucker who should be ignored.” [Slang; 1960s] Also see chicken feed.

---

Etymology

Origin of chump change

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

That’s not chump change — and it could require pulling back on discretionary spending such as dining out or travel, or redirecting any future raises, bonuses or tax refunds toward your retirement fund.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026

Of course, $75 million is chump change for Amazon, which makes hundreds of billion dollars in revenue a year from both its online sales and Amazon Web Services cloud unit.

From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026

But when it came to getting paid, most interventionists Padilla knew were lucky to earn $40,000 in a year before taxes — chump change by L.A. standards.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2024

This isn’t chump change, Jeffrey Brown of Redmond indicated.

From Seattle Times • May 12, 2023

I was a pro at filling out a 1040EZ back when I got paid chump change at Baskin-Robbins.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi