petty cash

American  

noun

1. a cash fund for paying small charges, as for minor office supplies or deliveries.

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petty cash British  

noun

1. a small cash fund kept on a firm's premises for the payment of minor incidental expenses

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Etymology

Origin of petty cash

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

Living up to his reputation as Cahiers’ brainiac bad boy, he pockets the office’s petty cash to road-trip to the Cannes premiere of Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows.”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 29, 2025

“We want the government to provide emergency services like helping fund tickets, food, petty cash, and cellphones and emergent medical needs on arrival,” Vazquez said.

From Washington Post • Jul. 14, 2022

After a burglar bashed a hole in our front door, we kept the petty cash in the bookshelves behind a volume of Ezra Pound.

From The Guardian • Sep. 21, 2019

The roughly $25 million the N.F.L. spends annually on officials is petty cash to a $12 billion organization; higher pay for full-time positions could be arranged.

From New York Times • Dec. 15, 2015

Everything, including us paying back the petty cash, would be ruined.

From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña