cash grab

noun

plural cash grabs
: the greedy pursuit of an opportunity for making money especially when done without regard for ethics, concerns, or consequences : money grab
Some Republican leaders have also said any attempt to undo the state's flat tax amounts to a cash grab.Steve LeBlanc
… money generated by single-use plastic going onto the market is being swallowed up in a cash grab … with little or no accountability or strategy underpinning it.Adam Leyland
also : something (such as a product or service) used for a cash grab
HBO announced a new Harry Potter TV series, and it is an obvious cash grab that is insulting to true fans. Victor Lana
But is it good enough to satisfy discerning taco-loving hipsters or is it simply a shameless, cultural appropriating cash grab? Joey Morona
It might be more feasible to just give up on college football being anything but a soulless cash grabDavid Schraub

Examples of cash grab in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
If a cynical person wants to say that all [legacy sequels] come from the same cash grab, that’s just not my view of it. Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 11 Aug. 2025 But the taxpayers who pay for it deserve a fiscally conservative approach and reforms needed to ensure a world-class, safe and soluble system — not a short-term cash grab that hurts, rather than helps, Illinoisans, $1.50 at a time. John Curran, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2025 That's a tough act to follow, but Disney has clearly taken its time to ensure Zootopia 2 is no mere cash grab. EW.com, 30 July 2025 Yet within the corridors of power at UEFA, it is more often perceived as a power and cash grab that will detract from its own money-making potential and disrupt Europe’s hegemony. Adam Crafton, New York Times, 21 May 2025 What this cash grab will do, of course, is give consumers who were looking for a reason to cut the cable cord a final reason to do so. Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 24 June 2025 And what better opportunity to air grievances than the All-Star break, a soulless cash grab where no one involved seems to actually want to be there. Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 16 Feb. 2025 All of this—combined with the staggered rollout schedule, synchronized merch drops, and albums’ vinyl variations—contributed to the feeling that the rerecordings had gone from a feminist crusade to a capitalist cash grab. Tyler Foggatt, New Yorker, 8 June 2025 Several Major League Soccer (MLS) players from the three competing teams—Seattle Sounders, Inter Miami, and Los Angeles FC—perceive this year’s tournament as a ‘cash grab’ for the league. Mark Lasota, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1922, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cash grab was in 1922

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Cite this Entry

“Cash grab.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cash%20grab. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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