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
As a result, lawmakers can use the PACs as slush funds to underwrite sumptuous lifestyles, good government advocates say.
—
Paul Pringle, Los Angeles Times, 29 Feb. 2024
The bombmaker was shot by the same gun as Webb’s, and his encrypted hard drive shows that a CIA slush fund under Webb’s name recently deposited six figures into his bank account.
—EW.com, 26 Feb. 2024
The Globe and Mail later reported that the settlement payment had come from a slush fund bolstered in part by children’s hockey registration fees.
—Ian Austen, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2024
Republicans have been holding hearings and launching investigations aimed at framing the entire climate package as a slush fund for donors and friends of the White House.
—Evan Halper, Washington Post, 22 Dec. 2023
Even before the ruling, good-government advocates complained to the FEC that politicians were using their leadership PACs as personal slush funds to subsidize expensive lifestyles.
—Paul Pringle, Los Angeles Times, 7 Dec. 2023
Clawing back this Energy Department slush fund is a no-brainer.
—Kimberley A. Strassel, WSJ, 23 Nov. 2023
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
Paul Pringle, Los Angeles Times, 29 Feb. 2024
The bombmaker was shot by the same gun as Webb’s, and his encrypted hard drive shows that a CIA slush fund under Webb’s name recently deposited six figures into his bank account.
—EW.com, 26 Feb. 2024
The Globe and Mail later reported that the settlement payment had come from a slush fund bolstered in part by children’s hockey registration fees.
—Ian Austen, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2024
Republicans have been holding hearings and launching investigations aimed at framing the entire climate package as a slush fund for donors and friends of the White House.
—Evan Halper, Washington Post, 22 Dec. 2023
Even before the ruling, good-government advocates complained to the FEC that politicians were using their leadership PACs as personal slush funds to subsidize expensive lifestyles.
—Paul Pringle, Los Angeles Times, 7 Dec. 2023
Clawing back this Energy Department slush fund is a no-brainer.
—Kimberley A. Strassel, WSJ, 23 Nov. 2023
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
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 19 Apr. 2024.
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