exchequer

[ eks-chek-er, iks-chek-er ]

/ ˈɛks tʃɛk ər, ɪksˈtʃɛk ər /

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See synonyms for exchequer on Thesaurus.com

noun

a treasury, as of a state or nation.

(in Great Britain)

(often initial capital letter) the governmental department in charge of the public revenues.
(formerly) an office administering the royal revenues and determining all cases affecting them.
(initial capital letter)Also called Court of Exchequer. an ancient common-law court of civil jurisdiction in which cases affecting the revenues of the crown were tried, now merged in the King's Bench Division of the High Court.

Informal. one's financial resources; funds: I'd love to go, but the exchequer is a bit low.

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Origin of exchequer

1250–1300; Middle English escheker, eschequier<Anglo-French escheker, eschekier (Old French eschequier) chessboard, counting table. See checker¹

Words nearby exchequer

exchange force, exchanger, exchange rate, Exchange Rate Mechanism, exchange student, exchequer, excide, excimer, excipient, exciple, excipulum

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use exchequer in a sentence

The United Kingdom’s chancellor of the exchequer has been the fastest rising star in the Tory party with clear eyes on No.
25 Rising Stars to Track in 2021|Daniel Malloy|December 20, 2020|Ozy
A video of George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer... skipping rope.
Politicians Jumping Rope Look About as Awkward as You'd Expect|Justin Green|February 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It's written by the wife of the man likely to be Britain's next chancellor of the Exchequer.
A Political Wife's Tell-All|Anne McElvoy|June 6, 2009|DAILY BEAST
A British prime minister feuding with his chancellor of the exchequer.
The Bitter Feud on Downing Street|Stryker McGuire|March 29, 2009|DAILY BEAST

Gordon Brown loved being Chancellor of the Exchequer, because finance is the one thing he really knows about.
The Unlikely Hero|Peter Oborne|October 13, 2008|DAILY BEAST
But the continual drafts had kept ever in advance of the receipts, draining the exchequer—crippling its faculties.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
If it pleased the godly it was a god-send for Bunn whose exchequer it filled to repletion.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham|Thomas T. Harman and Walter Showell
The prime-minister, the chancellor of the exchequer, two other members of the cabinet, and an ambassador were his companions.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
He was the inventor of Exchequer Bills; and they were popularly called Montague's notes.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay
He had been ordered by the Commissioners of the Excise to pay ten thousand pounds into the Exchequer for the public service.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay

British Dictionary definitions for exchequer (1 of 2)

exchequer

/ (ɪksˈtʃɛkə) /

noun

(often capital) government (in Britain and certain other countries) the accounting department of the Treasury, responsible for receiving and issuing funds

informal personal funds; finances

Word Origin for exchequer

C13 (in the sense: chessboard, counting table): from Old French eschequier, from eschec check

British Dictionary definitions for exchequer (2 of 2)

Exchequer

/ (ɪksˈtʃɛkə) /

noun

See Court of Exchequer

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

exchequer

Origin of exchequer

Words nearby exchequer

Words related to exchequer

How to use exchequer in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for exchequer (1 of 2)

Word Origin for exchequer

British Dictionary definitions for exchequer (2 of 2)