purchasing power
noun
1
: the amount of money that a person or group has available to spend
Inflation decreases consumer purchasing power.
2
: the value of money thought of as how much it can buy
a decline in the purchasing power of the dollar
Examples of purchasing power in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
One thing that is going to affect purchasing power for 22 million Americans is the expiration of Obamacare premium subsidies.
—
CBS News, 30 Nov. 2025
An uptick in sweet potatoes or a price dip in dinner rolls is trivial compared to the systemic erosion of purchasing power.
—Eugene Ludwig, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025
And since older workers generally face slower annual gains, a combination of weakening in the labor market and an uptick in inflation can more easily send their purchasing power into negative territory.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 25 Nov. 2025
The Economist’s Big Mac index—which tracks the price of a McDonald’s Big Mac burger in different countries—has also been used as an informal measure of purchasing power parity around the world.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 18 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for purchasing power
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CBS News, 30 Nov. 2025
An uptick in sweet potatoes or a price dip in dinner rolls is trivial compared to the systemic erosion of purchasing power.
—Eugene Ludwig, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025
And since older workers generally face slower annual gains, a combination of weakening in the labor market and an uptick in inflation can more easily send their purchasing power into negative territory.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 25 Nov. 2025
The Economist’s Big Mac index—which tracks the price of a McDonald’s Big Mac burger in different countries—has also been used as an informal measure of purchasing power parity around the world.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 18 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for purchasing power
Cite this Entry
“Purchasing power.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/purchasing%20power. Accessed 8 Dec. 2025.
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