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
Similar stories played out with other forms of money, such as wampum beads.
—
Dave Birnbaum, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for wampum
Dave Birnbaum, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for wampum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wampum
Noun
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The difference is that in prediction markets, people are wagering actual money, which tends to sharpen the mind in ways that answering a pollster's call during dinner does not.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
24 Mar. 2026
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What happened in podcasting is that money arrived, and some of it went into producing video clips.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Consumers would be able to use digital money issued directly by the Fed in addition to cash.—
Zach Halaschak,
The Washington Examiner,
22 Mar. 2026
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Police found no drugs or cash inside Taylor's apartment.—
DYLAN LOVAN,
Arkansas Online,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But neither the $1 coin or the gold coin has received approval from the Citizens Coinage Advisory Council, a nonpartisan group created by Congress to advise the treasury on coin design.—
Kinsey Crowley,
USA Today,
20 Mar. 2026
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Right now, this game is a coin flip.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Reduced rates by the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, and Bank of England would offer respite not just for their own economies but also those of developing countries that borrow in foreign currencies to attract global investors.—
Prashant Rao,
semafor.com,
25 Mar. 2026
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Higher energy prices are also expected to widen India’s current account deficit, which has contributed to a weakening of the local currency, with the rupee touching record lows in recent days.—
Priyanka Salve,
CNBC,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Lake Tahoe, so dependent on tourist bucks, set up a hot line to help visitors find open gas stations.—
Patt Morrison,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Mar. 2026
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The rider tries to gain control by matching the rhythm of the bull's bucks so the bull doesn’t throw him off.—
Nicole Villalpando,
Austin American Statesman,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The great revelation of the exhibition is the group of works in silver and gold from 18th-century Naples, where nothing of their quality and scale survives today.—
Sarah Kozlowski,
Dallas Morning News,
21 Mar. 2026
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That's particularly the case for things like gold, which pay their investors nothing at all.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
21 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wampum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wampum. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.
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