treasury

noun trea·sury \ ˈtre-zh(ə-)rē , ˈtrā- \

Definition of treasury

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 (such as a note or bill) issued by the Treasury

4 : a repository for treasures

a treasury of poems

5 obsolete : treasure

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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 of treasury from the Web

And if Silicon Valley can be made to cough up some money to public treasuries and hire journalists out of a failing media industry for no-show jobs, so much the better, our ruling class thinks.

— michael brendan dougherty, National Review, "The Battle between Silicon Valley and America’s Elites Will Reshape the Internet," 14 Oct. 2017
Republicans estimate that eliminating the deduction could bring an additional $1.3 trillion dollars into the treasury.

— erica martinson, Alaska Dispatch News, "Here’s what Sen. Dan Sullivan is pushing for in Republican’s planned tax overhaul," 30 Oct. 2017
White House officials said Mnuchin and Cohn are working in tandem, with the treasury secretary playing a more behind-the-scenes role in shaping the policy and promoting it.

— damian paletta, Washington Post, "On taxes, Trump is an eager salesman — but the policy action is on Capitol Hill," 27 Oct. 2017
Geithner went on to become President Barack Obama’s first treasury secretary.

— matthew boesler, Bloomberg.com, "New York Fed's Dudley Close to Announcing Retirement, CNBC Says," 5 Nov. 2017
Michigan’s lawsuit data reveals that the highest payouts since 1979, in judgments and settlements, came from the departments of education, transportation, treasury, corrections, state police and health and human services, in that order.

— marjie lundstrom, sacbee, "What are California taxpayers spending to settle sexual harassment claims? Good luck finding out," 3 Nov. 2017
Instead of allowing defendants to fund environmental measures as a way of meeting their obligations for violating the law, Sessions said, such penalties should go directly to the U.S. treasury.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "Why Scott Pruitt Is the Frontrunner for Trump's Worst Cabinet Member," 17 Oct. 2017
At one point in 2003 Mr. Soros hired Steven Mnuchin, now U.S. treasury secretary, to run a credit business.

— anupreeta das, WSJ, "George Soros Transfers $18 Billion to His Foundation, Creating an Instant Giant," 17 Oct. 2017
That money comes not from the corporate treasury but from people employed by the company or otherwise connected to it.

— floyd abrams, WSJ, "The Citizens United Disaster That Wasn’t," 16 Oct. 2017

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.

Origin and Etymology of treasury

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

Financial Definition of TREASURY

treasury

noun

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 Defined for English Language Learners

treasury

noun

Definition of treasury for English Language Learners

: the place where the money of a government, club, etc., is kept; also : the money itself
: a place in a church, castle, palace, etc., where money and valuable objects are kept
: a group of valuable things that are related in some way