easy money

noun

1. money obtained with a minimum of effort.

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

easy money

noun

1. money made with little effort, sometimes dishonestly

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of easy money¹

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900

Idioms and Phrases

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.

Example Sentences

When interest rates rose and the pandemic’s era of easy money ended, customers cut back on trading and Robinhood’s revenue plunged.

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There is no more easy money to be made by placing huge bets on headline-driven swings.

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That suggests the easy money has already been made and raises the troubling prospect that any small reversal could turn into something like a stampede—if investors all rush to exit at once.

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Non-farmers with political connections got in on the action, lured by the prospect of easy money, according to the investigators.

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To twist another cliché, a watched bubble doesn’t usually burst, especially when easy money continues to inflate it.

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