peace dividend

American

noun

money cut by a government from its defense budget as a result of the cessation of hostilities with other countries.

peace dividend British

noun

additional money available to a government from cuts in defence expenditure because of the end of a period of hostilities

"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 peace dividend

First recorded in 1985–90

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.

See Examples For:

peace dividend

The Russian state’s peace dividend included reneging on its contracts with Immanuel’s firm and he returned to Sweden a few years later.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

Hartnett repeats a view from last week’s Flow Show strategy note in which he picked consumer stocks as his preferred contrarian play to benefit from the peace dividend should the conflict with Iran conclusively end.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 16, 2026

Markets are set to enjoy an immediate peace dividend, but investors must recognize the realities of a changed world.

From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026

In the years after the Cold War, many western countries reaped a peace dividend.

From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2024

Tire peace dividend changed the region once again, and now it is best known for the great gambling casinos of Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods and for the pharmaceutical researchers of Pfizer.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

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