Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

wampum

American  
[wom-puhm, wawm-] / ˈwɒm pəm, ˈwɔm- /

noun

  1. Also called sewan.  Also called peag, seawan.  cylindrical beads made from shells, pierced and strung, used by North American Indians as a medium of exchange, for ornaments, and for ceremonial and sometimes spiritual purposes, especially such beads when white but also including the more valuable black or dark-purple varieties.

  2. Informal: Often Offensive. money.

wampum British  
/ ˈwɒmpəm /

noun

  1. (formerly) money used by North American Indians, made of cylindrical shells strung or woven together, esp white shells rather than the more valuable black or purple ones

  2. informal money or wealth

"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
wampum Cultural  

  1. Beads made from polished shells that some Native Americans once used as money and jewelry.

Sensitive Note

See firewater.

Etymology

Origin of wampum

First recorded in 1630–40; short for wampumpeag

Vocabulary lists containing wampum

Native American History - Middle School and High School

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

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.

The shells of the large, hard-shelled clam were used by the indigenous Narragansett people as wampum.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 24, 2023

A pair of cases are devoted to items from the Nanticoke people, including a wampum belt and necklace featuring whelk and clam shells and a toy canoe crafted from pine needles and sinew.

From Washington Post • Nov. 22, 2022

It was also their economic nerve center, with the salmon trading for all manner of goods from feathers to copper to wampum, beads crafted from shells.

From Washington Times • Aug. 16, 2022

And some of your ingredients felt like home to me, such as the Quogue clam, then later it comes wampum, the first money.

From Salon • Dec. 12, 2021

Around his neck hung a pouch of tobacco, a long knife, and a thick chain of the prized white shell beads called wampum.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

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.