riches
Americanplural noun
plural noun
Etymology
Origin of riches
1175–1225; Middle English, plural of Middle English riche wealth, power ( Old English rīce power, rule; cognate with German Reich realm); confused with Middle English richesse wealth < Old French, equivalent to riche wealthy (< Germanic; see rich) + -esse -ess
Explanation
Use the word riches when you're talking about wealth, including money, treasures, and expensive belongings. Most people who buy lottery tickets dream of winning riches. Occasionally, someone who's born into poverty will grow up to earn riches through hard work and a lot of luck — but more often, people inherit their riches from wealthy relatives. You can also use riches in a figurative way, for something bountiful or profuse: "Let's go to the farmers market and see what riches are available!" Riches was originally richesse, a singular word that was misinterpreted as being plural.
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.
It turns out there are riches to be had on the surface of the land, too.
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
Prospectors learned more than a century ago that there were riches buried under Texas, in the form of abundant oil and gas supplies.
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
Ultimately any staging of a Wilson play rises or falls on the quality of the ensemble, the ability of the performers to unearth all the immense riches in the dialogue and the characters.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026
Australia's wealthiest person Gina Rinehart must part with some of her riches, a court has ruled in a high-profile dispute over her mining empire.
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026
Classical music’s infatuation with mining the riches of the distant past only reinforced the popular impression that it was backward- rather than forward-looking.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
