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.
However, Democrats have a financial resource problem that is very real as compared to Republicans and their war chest. — CBS News, 9 Aug. 2026 Outside groups spent more than $63 million supporting Haley Stevens, a candidate backed by the establishment, dwarfing the amount spent on her opponent, a brash progressive named Abdul El-Sayed with a war chest some nine times smaller. — Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 5 Aug. 2026 Google co-founder Sergey Brin is its biggest donor, having contributed $82 million to the campaign war chest. — Grace Hase, Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2026 In the meantime, Liverpool may have access to a different kind of war chest to continue its upward climb. — Justin Birnbaum, Sportico.com, 3 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for war chest

Word History

First Known Use

1732, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of war chest was in 1732

Rhymes for war chest

See All Rhymes for war chest

Browse Nearby Words

war captain
war chest
war clause
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“War chest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/war%20chest. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

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