Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

cash1

[kash]
See more synonyms for cash on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. money in the form of coins or banknotes, especially that issued by a government.
  2. money or an equivalent, as a check, paid at the time of making a purchase.
Show More
verb (used with object)
  1. to give or obtain cash for (a check, money order, etc.).
  2. Cards.
    1. to win (a trick) by leading an assured winner.
    2. to lead (an assured winner) in order to win a trick: He cashed his ace and led the queen.
Show More
Verb Phrases
  1. cash in,
    1. to turn in and get cash for (one's chips), as in a gambling casino.
    2. to end or withdraw from a business agreement; convert one's assets into cash.
    3. Slang.to die: After her parents cashed in, she lived with her grandmother.
  2. cash in on, to profit from; use to one's advantage: swindlers who cash in on the credulity of the public.
Show More
Idioms
  1. cash in one's chips, Slang. to die.
Show More

Origin of cash1

First recorded in 1590–1600; apparently back formation from cashier1
Related formscash·a·ble, adjectivecash·a·bil·i·ty, nouncash·a·ble·ness, nounun·cashed, adjective

cash2

[kash]
noun, plural cash.
  1. any of several low-denomination coins of China, India, and the East Indies, especially a Chinese copper coin.
Show More

Origin of cash2

1590–1600; < Portuguese caixa < Tamil kācu copper coin < Sanskrit karṣa a weight (of precious metal)

Cash

[kash]
noun
  1. JohnJohnny, 1932–2003, U.S. country-and-western singer, musician, and composer.
Show More
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for cash

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • I told Coplen to offer her a million cash for everything rather'n have any fuss.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • Your costume may save us from starvation if we run short of cash.

  • Operators of monoplanes won a fair share of the cash prizes.

    Flying Machines

    W.J. Jackman and Thos. H. Russell

  • Ransom at long range will be about the size of it—cash or crash.

    American Notes

    Rudyard Kipling

  • By the hazard of fortune all the cash found its way to Casanova.

    Casanova's Homecoming

    Arthur Schnitzler

British Dictionary definitions for cash

cash1

noun
  1. banknotes and coins, esp in hand or readily available; money or ready money
  2. immediate payment, in full or part, for goods or services (esp in the phrase cash down)
  3. (modifier) of, for, or paid by casha cash transaction
  4. the cash Canadian a checkout counter
Show More
verb
  1. (tr) to obtain or pay ready money forto cash a cheque
Show More
See also cash in, cash up
Derived Formscashable, adjective

Word Origin

C16: from Old Italian cassa money box, from Latin capsa case ²

cash2

noun plural cash
  1. any of various Chinese, Indonesian, or Indian coins of low value
Show More

Word Origin

C16: from Portuguese caixa, from Tamil kāsu, from Sanskrit karsa weight of gold or silver

Cash

noun
  1. Johnny. 1932–2003, US country-and-western singer, guitarist, and songwriter. His recordings include the hits "I Walk the Line" (1956), "Ring of Fire" (1963), "A Boy named Sue" (1969), and the American Recordings series of albums (1994–2003)
Show More
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cash

n.

1590s, "money box;" also "money in hand, coin," from Middle French caisse "money box" (16c.), from Provençal caissa or Italian cassa, from Latin capsa "box" (see case (n.2)); originally the money box, but the secondary sense of the money in it became sole meaning 18c. Cash crop is attested from 1831; cash flow from 1954; the mechanical cash register from 1878.

Like many financial terms in English (bankrupt, etc.), ultimately from Italian. Not related to (but influencing the form of) the colonial British cash "Indian monetary system, Chinese coin, etc.," which is from Tamil kasu, Sanskrit karsha, Sinhalese kasi.

Show More

v.

"to convert to cash" (as a check, etc.), 1811, from cash (n.). Related: Cashed; cashing.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with cash

cash

In addition to the idioms beginning with cash

  • cash cow
  • cash in
  • cash on the barrelhead

also see:

  • cold cash
Show More
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.