purse strings

plural noun

: financial resources

also : control over these resources

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Its struggles come as the economy is weakening and shoppers are tightening their purse strings. —CBS News, 26 Jan. 2023

France Televisions, on the other hand, is looking to tighten its purse strings. —Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 17 Jan. 2023

So there seems to be some tightening of the purse strings within the Republican Party. —Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 22 Dec. 2022

George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer under Cameron’s premiership, put in place austerity, and was much tighter with the purse strings than Boris Johnson. —Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2022

With Disney tightening on the purse strings of ESPN, does this help or hinder the Pac-12 with negotiations? —Josh Newman, The Salt Lake Tribune, 10 Aug. 2022

While many teams indulged in a nearly unprecedented spending spree, the Dodgers stuck to their principles and kept a tight grip on their purse strings. —Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 9 Dec. 2022

Food producers have been raising prices on everything from snacks to condiments in a bid to manage rising supply costs, testing demand for their products as customers tighten their purse strings. —Dean Seal, WSJ, 1 Dec. 2022

But the pubcaster, which is tightening its purse strings, could follow TF1 and M6’s footsteps. —Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 21 Nov. 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

circa 1530, in the meaning defined above