treasury
noun
a place where the funds of the government, of a corporation, or the like are deposited, kept, and disbursed.
treasury
American
[trezh-uh-ree]
/ ˈtrɛʒ ə ri /
noun
-
treasuries
plural
-
a place where the funds of the government, of a corporation, or the like are deposited, kept, and disbursed.
-
funds or revenue of a government, public or private corporation, etc.
-
(initial capital letter) the department of government that has control over the collection, management, and disbursement of the public revenue.
-
a building, room, chest, or other place for the preservation of treasure or valuable objects.
-
a collection or supply of excellent or highly prized writings, works of art, etc..
a treasury of American poetry.
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Informal. Treasuries, Treasury bills, bonds, and notes.
treasury
1
British
/ ˈtrɛʒərɪ /
noun
-
a storage place for treasure
-
the revenues or funds of a government, private organization, or individual
-
a place where funds are kept and disbursed
-
Also: treasure house. a collection or source of valuable items
a treasury of information
Treasury
2
British
/ ˈtrɛʒərɪ /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of treasury
1250–1300; Middle English tresorie < Old French. See treasure, -y 3
Explanation
A treasury is a kind of bank — it's a place where money and other valuable things are kept, or where a country keeps its wealth. You might guess that a treasury is a place to keep your treasure, and you'd be right. Originally, the word literally meant "room for treasure," from the Old French tresor, "hoard or treasure." Starting in the late 1300s, it also meant "department that controls public revenue," which remains the most common use of treasury today. The U.S. even has an official Department of the Treasury, the part of the executive branch that prints money and collects taxes.
Vocabulary lists containing treasury
This Week In Words: November 28–December 4, 2020
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American Naturalization Test, List 2
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for April 16–April 22, 2022
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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.
See Examples For:
“Whenever people say, ‘oh, well, the treasury secretary is taking a risk,’ well, it’s my dream.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
The billionaire investor, who worked with the treasury secretary at Soros Fund Management, voiced his disapproval of Bessent’s tactics in a strongly-worded oped published in the Wall Street Journal Monday.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Lord O'Neill, a crossbench peer, was once a treasury minister under the Conservatives.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
Last week, Trump Media also unwound deals with Crypto.com to launch a prediction-market feature on Truth Social and create a stand-alone digital-asset treasury.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Back at the treasury Matthias had said, He’s one of us.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Tuesday as part of a new push to ground Tehran’s aviation sector.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Stocks continued to struggle on Wednesday as crude oil prices and Treasury yields built on recent gains.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
The Treasury Department announced last month that it would at least double buybacks of longer-term bonds to $4 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Many Wall Street dealers expected the Treasury to announce buybacks in a range of $6 billion to $8 billion.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
They told of the mighty who had fallen ill: Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton and Dr. Rush himself.
From "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson
However, the Fed’s hawkish stance is weighing on capital flows into bitcoin, which needs liquidity from ETFs, stablecoins and digital asset treasuries, De Maere added.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
“However, the market reaction overnight was telling: as the U.S. dollar remains the current safe haven through this even as U.S. treasuries came under strong pressure yesterday,” he added.
From Barron's ● Mar. 3, 2026
Over the last year, banks and other financial services firms have made it easier for small investors to buy crypto — exchange traded funds and firms that have constructed themselves as crypto treasuries have proliferated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 28, 2025
What we’re seeing now is like a silent IPO: early, oversized holders distributing to a much broader base of buyers who came in through ETFs, brokerages and corporate treasuries.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 17, 2025
The authorities both local and national had to spend every penny in their treasuries and every second of time in the sole task of dealing with the chaos.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
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.
