war chest

noun

: a fund accumulated to finance a war
broadly : a fund earmarked for a specific purpose, action, or campaign

Examples of war chest in a Sentence

The candidate held fund-raising dinners to build up his war chest.
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.
This year, Democrats are fortified by a hefty war chest and the fact that a Democrat sits in the Governor's Office. Mary Jo Pitzl, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024 Calvert won against Rollins in 2022 by less than 5 percentage points, and the Democratic challenger boasts a much larger war chest this time around. USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2024 Its war chest helped knock out Democratic primary candidates Rep. Katie Porter (Calif.) (who ran for Senate), Rep. Cori Bush (Mo.) and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.). Axios, 21 Oct. 2024 But Waymo is a pioneer in autonomous vehicles that’s years ahead, with a massive war chest from Alphabet, which has already invested $10 billion into the project in the last decade. Richard Nieva, Forbes, 11 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for war chest 

Word History

First Known Use

1871, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of war chest was in 1871

Dictionary Entries Near war chest

Cite this Entry

“War chest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/war%20chest. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.

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!