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
Through a secret slush fund, the South African government was funneling money into a global propaganda campaign meant to undermine its critics — including $250,000 to support Mr. Jepsen.
—
Clay Risen, New York Times, 23 Sep. 2023
The real threat to the Fed would be a judicial decision upholding the CFPB—and thereby letting Congress treat the central bank as the administrative state’s slush fund.
—Adam J. White, WSJ, 2 Oct. 2023
The case that got Berlusconi kicked out of the Senate stemmed from multimillion-dollar movie rights deals done by Mediaset during the 1990s with Hollywood studios, including Paramount and Fox, through offshore companies at inflated prices, allegedly to evade taxes and create a slush fund.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 12 June 2023
In 2019, Ericsson entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. government for using third-party agents and consultants to bribe government officials and operate slush funds in China, Djibouti, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
—Devlin Barrett, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2023
But some lawmakers want to use the money as a slush fund.
—Joel Zinberg, wsj.com, 7 May 2023
The payoff was a $50,000 contribution to a nonprofit Kilpatrick used as a slush fund.
—Detroit Free Press, 23 Apr. 2023
Critics called the entity a slush fund.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Jan. 2022
And now Blaine Griffin and Company wanna go the slush fund route.
—Laura Johnston, cleveland, 24 Jan. 2023
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Clay Risen, New York Times, 23 Sep. 2023
The real threat to the Fed would be a judicial decision upholding the CFPB—and thereby letting Congress treat the central bank as the administrative state’s slush fund.
—Adam J. White, WSJ, 2 Oct. 2023
The case that got Berlusconi kicked out of the Senate stemmed from multimillion-dollar movie rights deals done by Mediaset during the 1990s with Hollywood studios, including Paramount and Fox, through offshore companies at inflated prices, allegedly to evade taxes and create a slush fund.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 12 June 2023
In 2019, Ericsson entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. government for using third-party agents and consultants to bribe government officials and operate slush funds in China, Djibouti, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
—Devlin Barrett, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2023
But some lawmakers want to use the money as a slush fund.
—Joel Zinberg, wsj.com, 7 May 2023
The payoff was a $50,000 contribution to a nonprofit Kilpatrick used as a slush fund.
—Detroit Free Press, 23 Apr. 2023
Critics called the entity a slush fund.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Jan. 2022
And now Blaine Griffin and Company wanna go the slush fund route.
—Laura Johnston, cleveland, 24 Jan. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slush fund.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1839, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near slush fund
Cite this Entry
“Slush fund.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slush%20fund. Accessed 2 Dec. 2023.
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