slush fund

noun

Synonyms of slush fundnext
1
: a fund raised from the sale of refuse to obtain small luxuries or pleasures for a warship's crew
2
: a fund for bribing public officials or carrying on corruptive propaganda
3
: an unregulated fund often used for illicit purposes

Examples of slush fund in a Sentence

a secret slush fund for paying bribes
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.
Stefan Pildes is accused of stealing more than $1 million from charity, diverting some of the money to slush funds and using the rest for personal expenses, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. Liam Quinn, PEOPLE, 15 Apr. 2026 The money went to the California State Protocol Foundation, a nonprofit that operates like a slush fund to pay for Newsom’s high-profile international travel. Susan Shelley, Oc Register, 28 Mar. 2026 Federal disaster aid cannot be treated as a municipal slush fund. David Blackmon, Forbes.com, 12 Feb. 2026 These charges, Mayweather says, imply that the Pacquiao revenue pool was used as a slush fund to pay unrelated costs, like the Berto payout. Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 4 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for slush fund

Word History

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of slush fund was in 1839

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Cite this Entry

“Slush fund.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slush%20fund. Accessed 7 May. 2026.

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