ready money

American

noun

money that is in hand or may be obtained quickly or easily; cash.

ready money British

noun

Also called: the ready. the readies. funds for immediate use; cash

"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 ready money

First recorded in 1870–75

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.

“We have ready money today for anybody who can sell us PPE. We’ll cut you a check on the spot.”

From Reuters • Mar. 22, 2020

Over time, many former soldiers had to sell their certificates for ready money, often for a small fraction of their face value.

From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018

That means more ready money at hand, and some people will be looking to re-invest it.

From The Guardian • Jul. 10, 2013

"The next thing is savings, so we would say have some ready money available immediately, just in case."

From BBC • Oct. 19, 2012

Esquemeling computes it at 4,000 pieces of eight, and in ready money, plate, and jewels to about 50,000 pieces of eight more.

From The Monarchs of the Main, Volume I (of 3) Or, Adventures of the Buccaneers by Thornbury, Walter

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