slush fund

noun

1

: a fund raised from the sale of refuse to obtain small luxuries or pleasures for a warship's crew

2

: a fund for bribing public officials or carrying on corruptive propaganda

3

: an unregulated fund often used for illicit purposes

Examples of slush fund in a Sentence

a secret slush fund for paying bribes

Recent Examples on the Web

The order temporarily halts funding or organizing the fund while a judge considers arguments against the program that critics called a slush fund to reward the president's supporters. —Bart Jansen, USA Today, 29 May 2026

As shocking as this slush fund is, it should best be understood as one more test for what the administration can get away with. —New York Daily News, Twin Cities, 28 May 2026

The controversial $500,000 portion of PFAS money allocation scheme is a sham and undermines the public trust (Tamarac finds a $500,000 slush fund, editorial, May 21). —Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 28 May 2026

And so this is completely under their control, a slush fund. —CBS News, 24 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for slush fund

• fecund
• refund
• rotund
• secund
• and
• bund
• gunned
• hund
• mund
• shunned
• stunned