cash¹

[kash] /kæʃ/

noun

money in the form of coins or banknotes, especially that issued by a government.

money or an equivalent, as a check, paid at the time of making a purchase.

verb (used with object)

to give or obtain cash for (a check, money order, etc.).

Cards.

to win (a trick) by leading an assured winner.
to lead (an assured winner) in order to win a trick:
He cashed his ace and led the queen.

Verb phrases

cash in,

to turn in and get cash for (one's chips), as in a gambling casino.
to end or withdraw from a business agreement; convert one's assets into cash.
Slang. to die:
After her parents cashed in, she lived with her grandmother.

cash in on, to profit from; use to one's advantage:

swindlers who cash in on the credulity of the public.

Idioms

cash in one's chips, Slang. to die.

Origin

1590-1600; apparently back formation from cashier¹

Related forms

cashable, adjective

cashability, noun

cashableness, noun

uncashed, adjective

cash²

[kash] /kæʃ/

noun, plural cash.

any of several low-denomination coins of China, India, and the East Indies, especially a Chinese copper coin.

Origin

1590-1600; < Portuguese caixa < Tamil kācu copper coin < Sanskrit karṣa a weight (of precious metal)

Cash

[kash] /kæʃ/

noun

John ("Johnny") 1932–2003, U.S. country-and-western singer, musician, and composer.

Examples from the web for cash

Traveler's checks provide you with the security of replaceable funds that you use in the same fashion as cash.
The boats have exchange offices with acceptable rates for your leftover cash.
Set out cans and bottles for neighborhood pickup, or exchange them for cash at a recycling center.
And, because governments generally flood disaster areas with money, there's no dearth of cash for new investments.
Cheating would be to get money in a restaurant, put it in your pocket, and never put it in the cash register.
He plans less for profit than for quick return who will buy anything for three cash and sell it for two.
It is true that in the latter case he has only to cut off his coupons and cash them.
They found the boards in the wood-closets fine kindling wood, while the pipes and faucets were as good as cash at the junk shop.
If tramps have nothing else to call their own they have votes, and votes that are for sale cheap for cash.
Every suitor of the nineteenth century spends more than his spare cash on personal adornments.

British Dictionary definitions for cash

cash¹

/kæʃ/

noun

banknotes and coins, esp in hand or readily available; money or ready money

immediate payment, in full or part, for goods or services (esp in the phrase cash down)

(modifier) of, for, or paid by cash: a cash transaction

(Canadian) the cash, a checkout counter

verb

(transitive) to obtain or pay ready money for: to cash a cheque

cash²

/kæʃ/

noun (pl) cash

any of various Chinese, Indonesian, or Indian coins of low value

Word Origin

C16: from Portuguese caixa, from Tamil kāsu, from Sanskrit karsa weight of gold or silver

Cash

/kæʃ/

noun

Johnny. 1932–2003, US country-and-western singer, guitarist, and songwriter. His recordings include the hits "I Walk the Line" (1956), "Ring of Fire" (1963), "A Boy named Sue" (1969), and the American Recordings series of albums (1994–2003)

Word Origin and History for cash

1590s, "money box;" also "money in hand, coin," from Middle French caisse "money box" (16c.), from Provençal caissa or Italian cassa, from Latin capsa "box" (see case (n.2)); originally the money box, but the secondary sense of the money in it became sole meaning 18c. Cash crop is attested from 1831; cash flow from 1954; the mechanical cash register from 1878.

Like many financial terms in English (bankrupt, etc.), ultimately from Italian. Not related to (but influencing the form of) the colonial British cash "Indian monetary system, Chinese coin, etc.," which is from Tamil kasu, Sanskrit karsha, Sinhalese kasi.

"to convert to cash" (as a check, etc.), 1811, from cash (n.). Related: Cashed; cashing.

Slang definitions & phrases for cash

cash

Related Terms

cold cash

Idioms and Phrases with cash

cash

also see:

cold cash