I. cash 1 S2 W2 /kæʃ/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: French ; Origin: casse 'money box' , from Old Italian cassa , from Latin capsa ; ⇨ ↑ case 1 ]
1 . money in the form of coins or notes rather than cheques, ↑ credit card s etc:
Cash was taken during a burglary of the apartment.
in cash
The traffic police will accept fines in cash immediately.
The shop charges less if the customer pays in cash.
⇨ ↑ hard cash , ↑ petty cash
2 . money:
Health and education need cash from the government.
A phone line to help children in trouble has been closed due to lack of cash.
Charity workers must constantly raise more cash (=collect more money) for the needy.
The company found itself strapped for cash (=without enough money) to pay taxes.
3 . cash down British English , cash up front American English if you pay for something cash down, you pay before you receive it
4 . cash on delivery ( abbreviation COD ) a payment system in which the customer pays the person who delivers the goods to them
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ verbs
▪ raise cash
She organized a series of events to raise cash for cancer charities.
▪ provide cash
Campaigners are urging the government to provide more cash for health care.
▪ generate cash
The website generates cash from advertising, and by charging for downloads.
▪ pay (by) cash
They won’t take credit cards, so you have to pay cash.
■ adjectives
▪ spare cash
You should put any spare cash into a savings account.
■ cash + NOUN
▪ cash flow (=the amount of money coming into a business compared to money going out)
The company was having a few problems with cash flow.
▪ a cash crisis (=a serious lack of money in an organization or country)
the cash crisis in some developing countries
▪ a cash prize (=a prize that is money)
The winner will get a cash prize of £10,000.
▪ a cash boost (=more money that is suddenly given to a project, business etc)
Conservation projects in the region are being given a cash boost of £40,000.
▪ cash resources
The organization’s cash resources are limited.
▪ a cash reserve formal (=an amount of spare money that you have available to use)
Experts always advise people to build up a cash reserve.
▪ a cash crop (=a crop grown to sell rather than to use)
The land is used to grow cash crops like cocoa, tea, and coffee.
■ phrases
▪ be strapped for cash ( also be short of cash ) (=not have enough money)
Many airlines are strapped for cash at the moment.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ money what you use to buy things, in the form of notes or coins:
He spent all his money on computer equipment.
▪ cash money in the form of coins and notes:
I didn’t have any cash with me.
▪ currency the money used in a particular country:
The dollar gained in value against other currencies.
|
a single European currency
▪ change money in the form of coins of low value:
Do you have any small change?
|
a pocketful of loose change
▪ note British English , bill American English a piece of paper money:
a £20 note
|
a $5 bill
▪ coin a flat round piece of metal used as money:
She put some coins in the parking meter.
|
He took a coin out of his pocket.
▪ a ten-pence/50-cent etc piece a coin worth a particular amount
II. cash 2 S3 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
cash a cheque/postal order/draft etc to exchange a cheque etc for the amount of money it is worth:
Traveller’s cheques can be cashed at most hotels for a small charge.
Where can I get this cashed?
—cashable adjective
cash in phrasal verb
1 . to make a profit from a situation in a way that other people think is wrong or unfair
cash in on
The record company was trying to cash in on her fame by releasing early teenage recordings.
2 . cash something ↔ in to exchange something such as an insurance ↑ policy for its value in money
3 . cash in your chips to die – used humorously
cash up British English , cash out American English phrasal verb
to add up the amount of money received in a shop in a day so that it can be checked