spending money

American

noun

money for small personal expenses.

spending money British

noun

an allowance for small personal expenses; pocket money

"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 spending money

First recorded in 1590–1600

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.

Especially as everyone is living longer and spending money and driving the economy.

From MarketWatch • May 4, 2026

As the price of fuel and essentials stays high, it seems people are getting pickier about spending money on a day out.

From BBC • May 1, 2026

Those people are spending money they likely would have spent in the city anyway, a principle economists call substitution.

From Salon • Apr. 30, 2026

Chief among the locals' complaints is that the tourists are not spending money in the area -- they simply show up, snap their selfies and leave.

From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026

He gave us spending money for the five-day trip to Los Angeles, California.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson

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