transfer payment

noun

1
: a public expenditure made for a purpose (such as unemployment compensation) other than procuring goods or services
usually used in plural
2
transfer payments plural : money (such as welfare payments) that is received by individuals and that is neither compensation for goods or services currently supplied nor income from investments

Examples of transfer payment in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Chechen authorities receive roughly 85 percent of their state budget in the form of federal transfer payments from Moscow. Neil Hauer, Foreign Affairs, 4 Feb. 2019 Fourth, in 2024, the central government will arrange transfer payments to local governments of more than 10 trillion yuan, of which balanced transfer payments will increase by 8.8%, and county-level basic financial guarantee mechanism reward and subsidy funds will increase by 8.6%. Brendan Ahern, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024 The transfer payments are funded in part by taxpayers in rich blue areas. Jim Vandehei, Axios, 11 Oct. 2024 Much of this is transfer payments, but trillions of dollars are general expenditures. Jason Ma, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for transfer payment 

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1945, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of transfer payment was circa 1945

Dictionary Entries Near transfer payment

Cite this Entry

“Transfer payment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transfer%20payment. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on transfer payment

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!