cash cow

noun

1

: a consistently profitable business, property, or product whose profits are used to finance a company's investments in other areas

2

: one regarded or exploited as a reliable source of money

a singer deemed a cash cow for the record label

Examples of cash cow in a Sentence

The football team was a cash cow for the university.

The movie studio saw the actress as a cash cow.

Recent Examples on the Web

Prop 64 was sold to the voters as a cash cow of revenue for schools and services. —John Ramos, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026

This Argentine megastar has been a cash cow elevating an entire league since his arrival in South Florida in July 2023. —Greg Cote april 16, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2026

And to add to that, attempts to turn trash services and parking into cash cows have met with extreme public push-back. —Harvey Levine, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026

Frito-Lay was PepsiCo’s cash cow, generating money for the beverage division to spend, employees said. —Wire Tbd, Dallas Morning News, 8 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1972, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for cash cow

• allow
• avow
• basedow
• chiao
• endow
• eyebrow
• highbrow
• lanao
• meow
• powwow
• somehow
• anyhow