cash flow

American

noun

the sum of the after-tax profit of a business plus depreciation and other noncash charges: used as an indication of internal funds available for stock dividends, purchase of buildings and equipment, etc.

cash flow British

noun

the movement of money into and out of a business
a prediction of such movement over a given period

"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

Etymology

Origin of cash flow

First recorded in 1950–55

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.

Production, costs and cash flow are better than MA’s estimates, Hissey says.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

Analyst widely see Tesla posting its first year of negative free cash flow since 2018.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

Another popular smart-beta approach is fundamental weighting, which weights stocks by measures such as earnings, cash flow, and revenue.

From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026

Paying off the loan increases your cash flow but also increases your exposure.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

But luggage sales were only a small portion of Peninsula Luggage's cash flow.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023