sinking fund

American  

noun

1. a fund to extinguish an indebtedness, usually a bond issue.

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sinking fund British  

noun

1. a fund accumulated out of a business enterprise's earnings or a government's revenue and invested to repay a long-term debt or meet a depreciation charge

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sinking fund Cultural  

1. A fund into which companies or governments place money to redeem their bonds and other forms of indebtedness.

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Etymology

Origin of sinking fund

First recorded in 1715–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sinking fund

She does this by contributing a little bit of money every month into a "sinking fund" - a pot of money set aside for a specific purpose.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

A sinking fund is essentially a savings account you put aside for specific future expenses — holiday spending, in this case.

From Salon ● Nov. 26, 2024

A sinking fund holds money that’s earmarked for a specific goal or expense.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 1, 2022

It used £10m of the surplus to add to its general budget, on top of the £14m it gets from tax, rates and grants, and put the remainder into a rainy-day sinking fund.

From Reuters ● Jun. 24, 2020

The money may be repaid by equal instalments of principal, or of principal and interest, or by means of a sinking fund.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 4 "England" to "English Finance" by Various

Related Words

• cache
• reserve fund
• savings
• savings account
• stash
• stockpile