treasury
noun
, ˈtrā-\
Definition of treasury
2 Treasury
Examples of treasury in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The American delegation is led by a deputy U.S. trade representative, Jeffrey D. Gerrish, and includes agriculture, energy, commerce, treasury and State Department officials. — Joe Mcdonald, The Seattle Times, "US-China trade talks start amid cooling economic growth," 7 Jan. 2019 The invaluable treasury included some 6,500 photographs and 300 items of clothing, jewelry, and accessories. — Hamish Bowles, Vogue, "Behind the Personal Branding of Frida Kahlo," 18 June 2018 Adjusted for changes in currency rates, core consumer-banking revenue in Latin America and Asia still grew, and the treasury and trade services business grew 11% from a year ago. — Telis Demos, WSJ, "Bank Investors Look Beyond Trading Revenue to Deliver Strong Gains," 20 Jan. 2019 On Tuesday, Victoria and her 6-year-old daughter visited the family treasury—essentially the royal version of shopping in your own closet. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "Crown Princess Victoria Takes Her Daughter, Princess Estelle, on a Tour Through the Royal Treasury," 11 Jan. 2019 Originally created as a Viking fortress, this 13th-century castle (with additions in later centuries) has functioned as a prison, treasury, court of law, and royal residence. — Amy Tara Koch, Condé Nast Traveler, "How to Plan a Family Trip to Ireland," 12 July 2018 There’s also a huge bubble in public debt, not just U.S. treasury debt, but the debt of local and state governments. — Eric Johnson, Recode, "American capitalism broke in the 1980s. Can it be fixed?," 7 Nov. 2018 As recently as June, foreign holdings of Chinese treasurys were rising at nearly 80 billion yuan ($11 billion) a month as fund managers eyed China’s inclusion in a key global bond benchmark. — Nathaniel Taplin, WSJ, "Watch Out—Cash Is Deserting China Again," 7 Nov. 2018 Nicolás Dujovne, the treasury minister, took on Mr Caputo’s brief as well, giving him greater control over fiscal policy. — The Economist, "Argentina’s central-bank president resigns," 15 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'treasury.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for treasury
treasury
nounFinancial Definition of treasury
What It Is
Treasuries (sometimes spelled "treasurys") refer to all the tradable and negotiable debt obligations issued by a country's government. Broadly speaking, when an investor is referring to "Treasuries," he or she is referring to U.S. Treasuries.
How It Works
U.S. Treasuries can be divided into three main categories: Treasury bills (T-bills), Treasury notes (T-notes) and Treasury bonds (T-bonds) which are designated according to their lengths of maturity.
Treasury bills are short-term, zero-coupon bonds that are issued in maturities with lengths of 4, 13 or 26 weeks. Treasury notes are intermediate-term bonds issued by a federal government with maturities of 2, 3, 5 or 10 years. Treasury bonds are long-term, semi-annual coupon bonds issued by a federal government. Their maturities range from 10 to 30 years.
U.S. Treasuries are considered the safest investments in the world because the U.S. government has never defaulted on any debt it has issued. For this reason, Treasuries serve as a benchmark for the risk-free rate of return when determining the amount of expected risk for other types of assets.
Why It Matters
Treasuries are savings vehicles for governments, corporations, banks and individuals around the world. They are also an important instrument in monetary policy, because the sale and repurchase of them allows central banks to control the money supply and thus make adjustments to a nation's economy.
Treasuries are some of the world's safest investments, and therefore, have lower yields than more risky investments. They are appropriate for the most risk-averse investors who are mainly interested in preserving capital or having a steady stream of income. The rating of a nation's treasuries by credit rating agencies is an essential indicator of the financial stability of that nation.
Source: Investing Answers
treasury
noun
English Language Learners Definition of treasury
See the full definition for treasury in the English Language Learners Dictionary
treasury
noun
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Kids Definition of treasury
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treasury
noun
\
Legal Definition of treasury
2 capitalized
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