treasury

noun

trea·sury | \ ˈtre-zh(ə-)rē

, ˈtrā-\

plural treasuries

Definition of treasury

1a : 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

This four-part portrait created by Henry Louis Gates Jr., who also serves as host, draws from a bottomless-seeming treasury of period photos eloquent in their testimony. — Dorothy Rabinowitz, WSJ, "‘Reconstruction: America After the Civil War’ Review: Progress and Obstruction," 4 Apr. 2019 The key to opening space to private companies is using equipment that doesn’t take a national treasury to create and maintain. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "The Saga of a Stranded Space Station Supercomputer," 18 Mar. 2019 The Greenfield Historical Society wants to make everybody a treasury of fun knowledge by putting up an historical marker telling this part of the story of early Greenfield. — Jane Ford-stewart, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "A chance to wow friends coming, courtesy of Greenfield Historical Society," 30 Jan. 2018 The county was named after Alexander Hamilton, the first secretary of the treasury. — Dawn Mitchell, Indianapolis Star, "Found photos: Hamilton County communities," 26 Feb. 2018 The officials allegedly allowed him to maintain contracts with the treasury to access cheap dollars through the government. — Kejal Vyas, WSJ, "U.S. Charges Venezuela Media Mogul With Graft, Money Laundering," 20 Nov. 2018 Luis Caputo, a former Wall Street trader, was moved from the treasury to replace him. — The Economist, "Argentina’s currency crisis is far from over," 5 July 2018 British taxpayers support the Royal Family through the sovereign grant, a percentage of The Crown Estate’s profit that is issued by the treasury. — Rachel King, Fortune, "The Royal Wedding: How Much Security, Renovations, and Meghan Markle's Dress Might Cost," 17 May 2018 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

These 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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Last Updated

23 May 2019

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The first known use of treasury was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for treasury

treasury

noun

Financial 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