financial
Americanadjective
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pertaining to monetary receipts and expenditures; pertaining or relating to money matters; pecuniary.
financial operations.
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of or relating to those commonly engaged in dealing with money and credit.
noun
adjective
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of or relating to finance or finances
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of or relating to persons who manage money, capital, or credit
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informal having money; in funds
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(of a club member) fully paid-up
Synonym Usage
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
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Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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Michelle Obama's final address as First Lady (2017)
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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.
The Treasury also has published alerts for global banks laying out red flags that suggest shell companies could be using the U.S.-led financial system for Iran.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
The scale of self-insurance represents an “amazing opportunity” for the insurance industry, said Jim Bichard, chief financial officer at Lloyd’s of London, the insurance marketplace.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
Nevertheless, ensuring they maximised the benefits of player trading will become an increasing part of Arsenal's financial operation in the future.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
On Monday, a Forbes report analyzed the justice’s newly released 2025 financial disclosures, which reveal a stock portfolio chock-full of investments in the oil, gas and energy sectors.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
It was as if an entire financial market had tried to change its mind—and then realized that it could not afford to change its mind.
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.
