quantitative easing
noun
finance
: a set of government policies that may be implemented by a central bank to increase the money supply in the economy
The Fed has already done plenty with its unique stimulus program of quantitative easing, or QE, the $85 billion-a-month purchase of bonds and mortgage-backed assets that started pumping cash into the system in 2008.—
Rana Foroohar
Rana ForooharSpeculation is increasing that in an effort to stimulate the sluggish economy, the central bank will soon announce additional quantitative easing, the strategy of buying long-term assets like Treasury bonds to lower long-term interest rates.—Christine Hauser
Christine HauserSince 2000, the Bank of Japan has progressively increased the intensity of its quantitative easing programs in response to stagnant growth and failures in its banking system.—Blaine Luetkemeyer
—abbreviation QE
Blaine LuetkemeyerExamples of quantitative easing in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
If anything, the Fed has been guilty of doing too much in recent years, and the consequences of its long deployment of quantitative easing are still becoming evident.
—Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
That changed after 2008, when the Federal Reserve’s zero-interest rate policies (ZIRP) and quantitative easing (QE) pushed asset prices higher while real-world hiring lagged.
—Jessica Billingsley, Rolling Stone, 14 Apr. 2025
When financed by borrowing, this can pressure the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low or buy bonds (quantitative easing), expanding the money supply.
—Michael Khouw, CNBC, 10 Mar. 2025
In contrast, lower-income countries that could not respond to the pandemic with stimulus packages and quantitative easing are now swamped by debt and projected to grow much slower than expected or needed for sustained development.
—Mia Amor Mottley, Foreign Affairs, 7 Apr. 2023
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Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
That changed after 2008, when the Federal Reserve’s zero-interest rate policies (ZIRP) and quantitative easing (QE) pushed asset prices higher while real-world hiring lagged.
—Jessica Billingsley, Rolling Stone, 14 Apr. 2025
When financed by borrowing, this can pressure the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low or buy bonds (quantitative easing), expanding the money supply.
—Michael Khouw, CNBC, 10 Mar. 2025
In contrast, lower-income countries that could not respond to the pandemic with stimulus packages and quantitative easing are now swamped by debt and projected to grow much slower than expected or needed for sustained development.
—Mia Amor Mottley, Foreign Affairs, 7 Apr. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Quantitative easing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quantitative%20easing. Accessed 5 Sep. 2025.
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