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 crypto treasury playbook, made famous by Michael Saylor at Strategy (MSTR) has also seen a number IPOs including Sol Strategies Inc. (HODL.CN), DeFi Development Corp. (DFDV), Upexi (UPXI), Metaplanet Inc. (MTPLF) and many more. —Lawrence Wintermeyer, Forbes.com, 19 June 2025

With gold recently hitting all-time highs, silver reaching price levels on Tuesday and Wednesday that were its highest since 2012, and platinum up over 35% year-to-date, all have trounced the traditional U.S. financial system based safe-haven assets — treasuries and the U.S. dollar. —Meredith Mutter,eric Rosenbaum, CNBC, 17 June 2025

Newsom amplified his point about California’s contribution to the federal treasury — albeit without the threat to cut it off — in an official statement also issued Friday. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2025

In April 2016, two months before the Brexit vote, the British treasury projected that the United Kingdom’s gross domestic product would fall by nearly four percent over 15 years. —Jonathan Haskel, Foreign Affairs, 10 June 2025

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