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• exchequer
  exchequer

  noun

  a treasury, as of a state or nation.
• Exchequer
  Exchequer

  noun

  See Court of Exchequer

exchequer

American  

[eks-chek-er, iks-chek-er] / ˈɛks tʃɛk ər, ɪksˈtʃɛk ər /

noun

1. a treasury, as of a state or nation.

2. (in Great Britain)

   1. (often initial capital letter) the governmental department in charge of the public revenues.

   2. (formerly) an office administering the royal revenues and determining all cases affecting them.

   3. Also called Court of Exchequer.  (initial capital letter) 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.

3. Informal. one's financial resources; funds.

   I'd love to go, but the exchequer is a bit low.

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exchequer ¹ British  

/ ɪksˈtʃɛkə /

noun

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

2. informal personal funds; finances

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Exchequer ² British  

/ ɪksˈtʃɛkə /

noun

1. See Court of Exchequer

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Etymology

Origin of exchequer

1250–1300; Middle English escheker, eschequier < Anglo-French escheker, eschekier ( Old French eschequier ) chessboard, counting table. See checker ¹

Explanation

Exchequer is a British term for the individual in the government who is in charge of the money: the treasurer. Sometimes it refers to the office in which all the money is kept, the treasury itself. If you follow British government, you may have noticed that although they have a democracy much like ours, some things are very different. One of them is that the person in the government who is in charge of the government's finances, the Treasury Secretary, is called the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The word has been around for a long time. There were exchequers in medieval England, back when exchequer offices worked for kings.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

exchequer Exchequer

Official data Tuesday showed UK government borrowing dropped more than expected in June, handing a boost Healey, who replaced Rachel Reeves as chancellor of the exchequer.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

The current front-runner to be named chancellor of the exchequer, Britain’s equivalent of finance minister, is Wes Streeting, who has previously advocated for higher taxes on capital.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

Budget days used to be symbolised by the chancellor of the exchequer smiling and holding aloft the famous Red Box outside Number 11.

From BBC ● Nov. 24, 2025

The chancellor of the exchequer warned of "necessary choices" as Britain struggles with high debt and inflation.

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2025

Not that I cared which side we sold them to, but the British were the ones who had money—they had the whole English exchequer behind them.

From "My Brother Sam is Dead" by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Last week, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said that Treasury officials were re-examining preparatory work undertaken during the 2022 Russia-Ukraine energy shock.

From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2026

"The price gouging we are seeing is totally unacceptable," said Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves.

From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2026

As teller of the Exchequer, Downing later contributed to financial reforms in Britain’s Treasury, promoting Dutch-style credit practices, against the opposition of Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves faces some tough choices on Wednesday when she sets out a budget that strives to narrow the country’s fiscal gap without damaging growth.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 26, 2025

The English Exchequer used to keep accounts on a variant of the tally stick until 1826.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Related Words

• gift
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