war chest
noun
: a fund accumulated to finance a war
broadly
: a fund earmarked for a specific purpose, action, or campaign
Examples of war chest in a Sentence
The candidate held fund-raising dinners to build up his war chest.
Recent Examples on the Web
With an impressive war chest, Children’s Health Defense has become one of the country’s leading spreaders of vaccine misinformation.
—
Susanne Craig, New York Times, 16 Nov. 2023
Candidates who aren’t household names need millions of dollars — or political committees with their own war chests — to run advertising campaigns in metro areas across the Golden State in order to introduce themselves to voters.
—Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2023
Previously analysts believed that the war chests compiled by consumers during the pandemic had run dry.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2023
Ostensibly, the gathering is to add to the GOP war chest as critical state elections loom in Virginia.
—Norman J. Ornstein, The New Republic, 31 Oct. 2023
At a place like San Diego State, without brimming war chests and tradition stretching for generations, keeping pace demands a cocktail of excitement and winning.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Oct. 2023
His political operation built the war chests of his party’s most vulnerable incumbents — a hole that the new speaker is unlikely to be able to fill in the months leading up to next year’s crucial elections.
—Shane Goldmacher, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2023
Pence has been mired in the low single digits in most national and statewide polling, according to 538, and financial disclosures show his war chest pales in comparison to other contenders like Trump.
—Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 22 Oct. 2023
Investing campaign funds is a rare — but precedented — move that some politicians have made in the past to grow their war chests.
—Sahil Kapur, NBC News, 2 Oct. 2023
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Susanne Craig, New York Times, 16 Nov. 2023
Candidates who aren’t household names need millions of dollars — or political committees with their own war chests — to run advertising campaigns in metro areas across the Golden State in order to introduce themselves to voters.
—Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2023
Previously analysts believed that the war chests compiled by consumers during the pandemic had run dry.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2023
Ostensibly, the gathering is to add to the GOP war chest as critical state elections loom in Virginia.
—Norman J. Ornstein, The New Republic, 31 Oct. 2023
At a place like San Diego State, without brimming war chests and tradition stretching for generations, keeping pace demands a cocktail of excitement and winning.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Oct. 2023
His political operation built the war chests of his party’s most vulnerable incumbents — a hole that the new speaker is unlikely to be able to fill in the months leading up to next year’s crucial elections.
—Shane Goldmacher, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2023
Pence has been mired in the low single digits in most national and statewide polling, according to 538, and financial disclosures show his war chest pales in comparison to other contenders like Trump.
—Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 22 Oct. 2023
Investing campaign funds is a rare — but precedented — move that some politicians have made in the past to grow their war chests.
—Sahil Kapur, NBC News, 2 Oct. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'war chest.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1871, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near war chest
Cite this Entry
“War chest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/war%20chest. Accessed 2 Dec. 2023.
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