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• treasury
  treasury

  noun

  a place where the funds of the government, of a corporation, or the like are deposited, kept, and disbursed.
• Treasury
  Treasury

  noun

  (in various countries) the government department in charge of finance. In Britain the Treasury is also responsible for economic strategy

treasury

American  

[trezh-uh-ree] / ˈtrɛʒ ə ri /

noun

• treasuries
  plural

1. a place where the funds of the government, of a corporation, or the like are deposited, kept, and disbursed.

2. funds or revenue of a government, public or private corporation, etc.

3. (initial capital letter) the department of government that has control over the collection, management, and disbursement of the public revenue.

4. a building, room, chest, or other place for the preservation of treasure or valuable objects.

5. a collection or supply of excellent or highly prized writings, works of art, etc..

   a treasury of American poetry.

6. Informal. Treasuries, Treasury bills, bonds, and notes.

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treasury ¹ British  

/ ˈtrɛʒərɪ /

noun

1. a storage place for treasure

2. the revenues or funds of a government, private organization, or individual

3. a place where funds are kept and disbursed

4. Also: treasure house.  a collection or source of valuable items

   a treasury of information

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Treasury ² British  

/ ˈtrɛʒərɪ /

noun

1. (in various countries) the government department in charge of finance. In Britain the Treasury is also responsible for economic strategy

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• treasuries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of treasury

1250–1300; Middle English tresorie < Old French. See treasure, -y ³

Explanation

A treasury is a kind of bank — it's a place where money and other valuable things are kept, or where a country keeps its wealth. You might guess that a treasury is a place to keep your treasure, and you'd be right. Originally, the word literally meant "room for treasure," from the Old French tresor, "hoard or treasure." Starting in the late 1300s, it also meant "department that controls public revenue," which remains the most common use of treasury today. The U.S. even has an official Department of the Treasury, the part of the executive branch that prints money and collects taxes.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

treasury Treasury treasuries

Benna, then a corporate benefits consultant, brought what he called his “aggressive interpretation” of section 401 to treasury officials, who took his suggestions on board.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

The Secretary of State comes next in line, followed by the treasury secretary.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Both the 2028 Games and those future events will help fill Pasadena hotels, restaurants and shops, bolstering the local economy and adding tax dollars to the city treasury, according to supporters of the plan.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

Jamie Dimon — long considered a potential candidate to be treasury secretary, and the person in charge of one of the nation’s primary dealers of Treasury securities — says he wouldn’t buy American debt.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026

“The treasury was already secure and well-positioned on the White Island, so it was a logical choice for such a facility.”

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo

This week: The Treasury Department announced it’s killing an anti-corruption measure that requires shell companies to identify their beneficiaries.

From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026

The 10-year Treasury yield, which influences borrowing costs across the economy, advanced to 4.695%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Still, rising Treasury yields mean rising mortgage-loan rates.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

Treasury yields, which rise when bond prices fall, ticked higher.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Diploma in hand, Elizebeth returned to her ordinary routines as the top code breaker at the Treasury Department and the Coast Guard.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

However, the Fed’s hawkish stance is weighing on capital flows into bitcoin, which needs liquidity from ETFs, stablecoins and digital asset treasuries, De Maere added.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

Vibe-trading digital oil is like vibe-hedging in treasuries during Hormuz risk-off.

From Barron's ● Apr. 23, 2026

What we’re seeing now is like a silent IPO: early, oversized holders distributing to a much broader base of buyers who came in through ETFs, brokerages and corporate treasuries.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 17, 2025

The activity implied that treasuries may have lost their glow, or that the stock market collapse had produced untenable losses among Wall Street traders.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2025

The shafts ran down by many slopes and spiral stairs to caverns far under; there Saruman had treasuries, store-houses, armouries, smithies, and great furnaces.

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien

Related Words

• bank
• coffer
• exchequer