Definition of mad money
1
: discretionary money set aside for an emergency or for personal use
Mad money is a bit of cash set aside for some personal fun …— Jerry Tarde I tell everyone I am semi-retired. The theory is to be able to find a few small side jobs to just make a little "mad money" using the skills acquired through a decades-long career.— Michael Baldauf Search the apartment or house carefully. Some people conceal cash or jewelry in their homes. If there is a library, look through the books. They are a favorite repository for mad money …— David Bernheim The Pine Wood Elementary P.T.A. in the county gives each teacher $100 for classroom "mad money."— Michael Winerip
2
old-fashioned
: money that a woman carries to pay her fare home in case a date ends badly (as in a quarrel)
I was born too late for mad money. By the time I was old enough to date, the idea that a woman would leave her house with just enough cash to get herself home was so anachronistic, it verged on ludicrous.— Rebecca Johnson
Test Your Vocabulary
Words Named After People
-
- Namesake of the leotard, Jules Léotard had what profession?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
A daily challenge for crossword fanatics.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share mad money
Time Traveler for mad money
The first known use of mad money was in 1922
See more words from the same year