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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wampum
Elizabeth James-Perry and Erin Genia: Wampanoag and Dakota Adornment
James-Perry, honored this year with a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts, makes wampum jewelry, textiles, and maritime art directly tied to her Aquinnah Wampanoag tribal heritage.
—
Lauren Daley, BostonGlobe.com, 25 July 2023
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
See All Example Sentences for wampum
Lauren Daley, BostonGlobe.com, 25 July 2023
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
See All Example Sentences for wampum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wampum
Noun
-
The biggest, richest, most powerful clubs — the ones that will inevitably be the main beneficiaries if this takes hold — are making far more money than ever before.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Additionally, Ferguson faced large personal debts after her divorce and was repeatedly criticized for poor money management and lavish spending.—
Ashley Hume , Ashley Papa,
FOXNews.com,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Rozier and Laster counted cash winnings at Rozier's home in Charlotte roughly a week later, the indictment says.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
25 Oct. 2025
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Non-itemizers will be able to claim a deduction for cash donations of up to $1,000 for single filers and $2,000 for couples filing jointly.—
Medora Lee,
USA Today,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Although the brain itself has no pain receptors, Bacon was given local anesthetic to numb her scalp and skull, as doctors made holes half the size of a small coin in her skull and implanted the stimulating electrodes inside.—
Elmira Aliieva,
NBC news,
23 Oct. 2025
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Find the right storage cabinet for small accessories Fishing enthusiasts, coin collectors, and sewing or knitting needle experts will want to store smaller items like those in their collections in smaller storage bins.—
Michelle Mastro,
Architectural Digest,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The metric excludes the impact of pricing and foreign currency to reflect demand.—
Amelia Lucas,
CNBC,
21 Oct. 2025
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Including Yeezy sales in the prior-year quarter, which were around 200 million euros, currency-neutral revenues increased 8 percent.—
Stephen Garner,
Footwear News,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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But letting them in was still a better idea than sitting here at her table, scrolling her phone, waiting for several thousand bucks to miraculously drop in her lap.—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
23 Oct. 2025
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The bike plus the dual-battery extender package has a list price of $1,999, but again is available for a hundred bucks off at the time of writing.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The 35-year-old Olympic gold medalist has rapidly climbed to the top of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC.—
Victoria Moorwood,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
26 Oct. 2025
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Jade Cargill's Comeback Cargill had been riding a wave of momentum during her WWE run, even capturing tag team gold with Bianca Belair.—
Fernando Quiles Jr,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wampum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wampum. Accessed 27 Oct. 2025.
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