easy money

American  

noun

1. money obtained with a minimum of effort.

2. money obtained by deception, fraud, artifice, etc.

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easy money British  

noun

1. money made with little effort, sometimes dishonestly

2. commerce money that can be borrowed at a low interest rate

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easy money Idioms  

1. Money obtained readily, with little effort and, often, illegally. For example, Winning the lottery—that's easy money! or I was wary of making easy money with the insider tips I'd been given. [c. 1900] Also see fast buck.

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Etymology

Origin of easy money

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

easy money

But can I take advantage this apparent arbitrage opportunity to make some easy money by borrowing from a bank at 0% and then lending to Uncle Sam at 4.7% a year?

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

Burnham said: "The days of making easy money out of waste are over. We're giving authorities the powers to hunt down the people responsible. We will seize their assets and shut their operations down."

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

But by the time price confirms a structural trend, the easy money has usually been made.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

The skeptics, including some retail traders, say the easy money has already been made and that the pros are looking for someone else to get stuck holding the bag.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026

They were, at least, agonizingly aware of the easy money in the vicinity and convinced that it was theirs for a few words in the right key.

From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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