purse strings

plural noun

: financial resources

also : control over these resources

Examples of purse strings in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

With the purse strings tightening on federal aid, more families may need to turn to private lenders to help pay for higher education. — Dan Avery, CNBC, 8 July 2026

Lawmakers, who hold the government’s purse strings and have oversight of federal agencies, wanted USAID to remain, even in its diminished form. — Anna Maria Barry-Jester, ProPublica, 22 June 2026

As Hodgson, who only launched Pale Horse Gallery last year, attested, soaring business rates, rent, and energy bills are serious obstacles—not to mention collectors tightening their purse strings on account of geopolitical and economic uncertainty. — George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 10 June 2026

Sixty years after Revolver, Beatlemania is a never-ending flurry of idyllic remembrances of the past, a careful tugging at both heart- and purse strings. — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 4 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1530, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for purse strings

• brings
• clings
• dings
• flings
• kings
• lings
• pings
• rings
• sings
• slings
• stings
• swings