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Finance and Tranche
In French, tranche means “slice.” Cutting deeper into the word’s etymology, we find the Old French word trenchier, meaning “to cut,” which has its likely origin in a Latin word meaning “to cut in three,” from Latin trini meaning “three each.” Tranche emerged in the English language in the late 19th century to refer to a division or portion of a larger pool or whole, and later developed a finance-specific meaning referring to an offering for sale of typically a set of bonds “cut” from a larger group of bonds, the tranche being differentiated by such factors as maturity or rate of return.
Examples of tranche in a Sentence
Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 6 June 2026
Meanwhile, Tesla shareholders approved a pay plan late last year that consists of 12 tranches, with each payout tied to market cap gains and operational achievements.
—Ari Levy, CNBC, 3 June 2026
The Department of War released a tranche of documents on UFOs earlier this month.
—Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 29 May 2026
Among the documents in the tranche obtained by WIRED is a New York Intelligence and Counterterrorism Bureau report that warns of widespread upheaval in response to AI adoption.
—Daniel Boguslaw, ArsTechnica, 27 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for tranche
Cite this Entry
“Tranche.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tranche. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
tranche
nounFrench, literally, slice, from Old French, from trenchier, trancher to cut
