cash cow

American  

noun

Informal.

1. any business venture, operation, or product that is a dependable source of income or profit.

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cash cow British  

noun

1. a product, acquisition, etc, that produces a steady flow of cash, esp one with a well-known brand name commanding a high market share

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cash cow Idioms  

1. A dependable source of profit, as in The small-appliance division is this company's cash cow. Although this precise term dates only from about 1970, milch cow was used in exactly the same way from 1601.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cash cow

Anthropic has decided to keep its Claude chatbot ad-free, eschewing what has become a cash cow for OpenAI and other Big Tech companies.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026

His cash cow: Mario Moreno, better known as Cantinflas, the improvisational comic genius sometimes called the “Mexican Charlie Chaplin.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

"You go and spend a couple of thousand pounds and you double, or triple, your money. It's absolutely a cash cow," he said.

From BBC ● May 4, 2026

For decades, China was a cash cow for many legacy brands, requiring minimal investment and offering huge gains.

From Barron's ● Apr. 27, 2026

“But this business of his is a cash cow, I’m telling you. Listen. This is how I got it figured ...” What luck!

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen

Related Words

• moneymaker