financial
Americanadjective
-
pertaining to monetary receipts and expenditures; pertaining or relating to money matters; pecuniary.
financial operations.
-
of or relating to those commonly engaged in dealing with money and credit.
noun
adjective
-
of or relating to finance or finances
-
of or relating to persons who manage money, capital, or credit
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informal having money; in funds
-
(of a club member) fully paid-up
Related Words
Financial, fiscal, monetary, pecuniary refer to matters concerned with money. Financial usually refers to money matters or transactions of some size or importance: a financial wizard. Fiscal is used especially in connection with government funds, or those of any organization: the end of the fiscal year. Monetary relates especially to money as such: a monetary system or standard. Pecuniary refers to money as used in making ordinary payments: a pecuniary obligation or reward.
Other Word Forms
- financially adverb
- nonfinancial adjective
- nonfinancially adverb
- prefinancial adjective
- quasi-financial adjective
- quasi-financially adverb
Etymology
Origin of financial
Explanation
If you are short on cash, you might say you have a financial problem. Talking about finances is a polite and formal way to refer to money. The similarity between the words financial and finish is no accident. Both come from the Old French word fine, which was generally used to mean "end" or "finish" and more specifically to mean "end a debt." If you pay a fine, you end the debt you owe society for, say, spitting your gum on the sidewalk, or failing to clean up after your dog.
Vocabulary lists containing financial
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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Michelle Obama's final address as First Lady (2017)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And then in February, amid billions of dollars of investment and major financial losses, LIV's chief executive admitted it could take a further decade for it to return a profit.
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026
Bigger-ticket items like hospital beds and specialized medical equipment add to the financial strain.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026
But Alastair Borthwick, the bank’s chief financial officer, said that hasn’t altered the underlying strength of the consumer.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
Kalshi says that sports event contracts meet the intentionally broad definition of a swap, which are federally regulated financial products overseen by the U.S.
From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026
He was doing nothing more promising than buying common stocks and nothing more complicated than sitting in a room reading financial statements.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
