financial
Americanadjective
-
pertaining to monetary receipts and expenditures; pertaining or relating to money matters; pecuniary.
financial operations.
-
of or relating to those commonly engaged in dealing with money and credit.
noun
adjective
-
of or relating to finance or finances
-
of or relating to persons who manage money, capital, or credit
-
informal having money; in funds
-
(of a club member) fully paid-up
Related Words
Financial, fiscal, monetary, pecuniary refer to matters concerned with money. Financial usually refers to money matters or transactions of some size or importance: a financial wizard. Fiscal is used especially in connection with government funds, or those of any organization: the end of the fiscal year. Monetary relates especially to money as such: a monetary system or standard. Pecuniary refers to money as used in making ordinary payments: a pecuniary obligation or reward.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of financial
Explanation
If you are short on cash, you might say you have a financial problem. Talking about finances is a polite and formal way to refer to money. The similarity between the words financial and finish is no accident. Both come from the Old French word fine, which was generally used to mean "end" or "finish" and more specifically to mean "end a debt." If you pay a fine, you end the debt you owe society for, say, spitting your gum on the sidewalk, or failing to clean up after your dog.
Vocabulary lists containing financial
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Michelle Obama's final address as First Lady (2017)
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
SpaceX’s upcoming initial public offering is expected to be out of this world, and some of the biggest beneficiaries will be on Wall Street, the center of the financial universe.
From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026
Lennar’s self-insurance reserve, earmarked for liabilities that insurance won’t cover, rose 21% in fiscal 2025 to $336.9 million, according to the company’s annual financial statement.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
In November, Inter Ikea reported a 32 percent drop in annual profit for its 2024-2025 financial year as it lowered prices to boost sales and faced higher costs due to US tariffs.
From Barron's • May 18, 2026
The court said she spent 163 days in Spain in that financial year - 20 days short of the threshold for her to be classed as a resident for tax purposes.
From BBC • May 18, 2026
The financial markets paid a lot of people extremely well for narrow expertise and a few people, poorly, for the big, global views you needed to have if you were to allocate capital across markets.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
