war chest

American  

noun

1. money set aside or scheduled for a particular purpose or activity, as for a political campaign or organizational drive.

---

war chest British  

noun

1. a fund collected for a specific purpose, such as an election campaign

---

Etymology

Origin of war chest

An Americanism dating back to 1900–05

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

war chest

And Cruz, of course, was an incumbent senator who had six years to build his war chest, while this is Paxton’s first federal race.

From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026

And now it has the war chest to go after more types of consumers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

The campaign has triggered nationwide fuel shortages and, Kyiv says, dented Russia's financial war chest.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

"The reason Aldi cannot simply out-discount its way to the throne is that Walmart fights with a war chest and Aldi fights with a scalpel," Sheldon explained.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

The Exposition Company’s shrinking war chest had driven its relationship with the National Commission to a new low, with Director-General Davis arguing that any new federal money should be controlled by his commission.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Related Words

• exchequer
• treasury