as in money
something (as pieces of stamped metal or printed paper) customarily and legally used as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means of payment
made some real wampum on that last business deal
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wampum
Some of their gear—a pair of shoes, a VHF radio, a wampum sash worth several thousand dollars—now resides on the canal’s bottom.
—
Ben McGrath, The New Yorker, 3 July 2023
There is a really quite amazing scene when Civility and Satcheechoe take a string of wampum and wrap it around the Pennsylvania governor’s arm to symbolically pull him to Albany to meet with all the Native people who have become involved in this case.
—Karin Wulf, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Apr. 2021
Not only were these beads a coveted status symbol, but the powerful Mohawk of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (or Five Nations Iroquois) of what is now upstate New York, raided coastal peoples who did not furnish wampum for Haudenosaunee rituals.
—National Geographic, 19 Nov. 2020
Many of his pieces are horizontal, recalling the forms of early panoramic art and the woven wampum belts that are a cultural touchstone of his people.
—New York Times, 4 Oct. 2021
See All Example Sentences for wampum
Ben McGrath, The New Yorker, 3 July 2023
There is a really quite amazing scene when Civility and Satcheechoe take a string of wampum and wrap it around the Pennsylvania governor’s arm to symbolically pull him to Albany to meet with all the Native people who have become involved in this case.
—Karin Wulf, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Apr. 2021
Not only were these beads a coveted status symbol, but the powerful Mohawk of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (or Five Nations Iroquois) of what is now upstate New York, raided coastal peoples who did not furnish wampum for Haudenosaunee rituals.
—National Geographic, 19 Nov. 2020
Many of his pieces are horizontal, recalling the forms of early panoramic art and the woven wampum belts that are a cultural touchstone of his people.
—New York Times, 4 Oct. 2021
See All Example Sentences for wampum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wampum
Noun
-
Youngkin in 2021 raised $2.2 million in contributions, but the millionaire investor bolstered his war chest with $5.5million of his own money, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.—
Savannah Kuchar,
USA Today,
21 Apr. 2025
-
By juggling school and a job at a lice clinic, one young woman found a way to finance her education Comments Cailin Hawn has worked at a lice clinic for five years in an attempt to make and save money for school.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
People.com,
20 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Since the recent downturn, I have been asked repeatedly about what to do, and whether to sell out and go to cash.—
Jill Schlesinger,
Mercury News,
28 Apr. 2025
-
One afternoon, Coogler stopped by a Bank of America to make a sizable cash withdrawal from his account to cover some family expenses.—
Jelani Cobb,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Customers, who had access to more than 20 crypto coins at the time, were either shunted to Blockchain.com or liquidated their holdings.—
Hugh Son,
CNBC,
29 Apr. 2025
-
But this was still just the flip of a coin, essentially.—
Ruthie Ackerman,
Time,
29 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The Bears traded away a massive amount of draft currency, sending the 49ers a four-pack of picks — Nos. 3, 67 and 111 in that year’s draft plus a 2018 third-rounder — to slide up one peg to No. 2 on the draft board to draft Mitch Trubisky, a quarterback at North Carolina.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2025
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Their faces have appeared on currency, Streets bear their names, children learn about them in school.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
While there, he was presented with a special gift: an 18-karat gold Omega Speedmaster Professional watch.—
Sarah Kuta,
Smithsonian Magazine,
24 Apr. 2025
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The $10,000 Apple Watch Edition launched in 2015 and had an 18K gold case with sapphire crystal glass.—
Adrienne So,
Wired News,
24 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wampum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wampum. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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