treasury

noun

trea·​sury ˈtre-zh(ə-)rē 

ˈtrā-

plural treasuries

1

a

: a place in which stores of wealth are kept

b

: the place of deposit and disbursement of collected funds

especially : one where public revenues are deposited, kept, and disbursed

c

: funds kept in such a depository

2

Treasury

a

: a governmental department in charge of finances and especially the collection, management, and expenditure of public revenues

b

: the building in which the business of such a governmental department is transacted

3

Treasury plural also Treasurys : a government security (such as a note or bill) issued by the Treasury

4

: a repository for treasures

a treasury of poems

5

obsolete : treasure

Examples of treasury in a Sentence

A government official has been accused of stealing from the nation's treasury.

The fees are deposited into the state's treasury.

A part of the nation's treasury is spent on space exploration.

The author has collected a treasury of facts and lore about horses.

Recent Examples on the Web

The visit, her second to China in nine months as treasury chief, is aimed at addressing escalating trade disputes between the world’s largest economies as the two sides try to stabilize relations following a summit between US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping last November. —Nectar Gan, CNN, 8 Apr. 2024

Most of the oil windfall available in its treasury is going to construct roads and other infrastructure, most notably a 152-mile pipeline to carry ashore natural gas, released while extracting oil from Exxon Mobil’s fields, to generate electricity. —Gaiutra Bahadur Keisha Scarville, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2024

Between its foundation and his retirement 48 years later, Garavani created an enormous treasury of intensely romantic womenswear — and from 1969, menswear too. —Luke Leitch, Vogue, 28 Mar. 2024

At the time, OpenAI appointed former treasury secretary Larry Summers and former Twitter board chairman Bret Taylor to temporarily oversee the board and select a new, permanent board. —Nitasha Tiku, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024

The central bank's policy shift in recent days reduced yields on the all-important 10-year treasury bond. —Max Zahn, ABC News, 19 Dec. 2023

The treasury secretary is on the back end of her second visit to China in nine months to meet with state officials. —William Gavin, Quartz, 8 Apr. 2024

As treasury secretary, Mnuchin had generally been active — more so than his predecessors, some said — in CFIUS investigations and efforts on Capitol Hill to expand the committee’s powers. —Tony Romm, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024

Also, if ByteDance is forced to divest from TikTok, Trump’s former treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin is putting a band together to purchase it. —Maxwell Zeff / Gizmodo, Quartz, 26 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English tresorie, from Anglo-French, from tresor treasure

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing treasury

• sub-treasury
• treasury note
• treasury of merits
• treasury stock

Kids Definition

treasury

noun

trea·​sury ˈtrezh-(ə-)rē 

ˈtrāzh-

plural treasuries

1

a

: a place in which stores of wealth are kept

b

: the place where collected funds are stored and paid out

2

capitalized : a government department in charge of finances

Legal Definition

treasury

noun

trea·​sury ˈtre-zhə-rē, ˈtrā- 

plural treasuries

1

a

: a place in which stores of wealth are kept

b

: the place of deposit and disbursement of collected funds

especially : one where public revenues are deposited, kept, and disbursed

c

: funds kept in such a depository

2

capitalized

a

: a governmental department in charge of finances and especially the collection, management, and expenditure of public revenues

b

: the building in which the business of such a governmental department is transacted

3

capitalized : a government security (as a note or bill) issued by the Treasury