petty cash

noun

: cash kept on hand for payment of minor items

Examples of petty cash 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.
Paying for a Secret Service detail doesn’t come out of petty cash. Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 31 Aug. 2025 Information in the memo line of the checks ranged from petty cash, birthday, benevolence and office to donor gifts and volunteer bonuses and gifts amounting to $178,276. Katie Nixon, The Tennessean, 5 Aug. 2025 Yes, there’s a bit of petty cash filtering in here and there for their little projects. Heidi Blake, The New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2023 Qualifying expenses include wages, invoices and even petty cash. Zoe Hewitt, Variety, 21 June 2023 See All Example Sentences for petty cash

Word History

First Known Use

1715, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of petty cash was in 1715

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Petty cash.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/petty%20cash. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

petty cash

noun
: a small amount of money kept on hand in an office to pay for minor items

More from Merriam-Webster on petty cash

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!