Phrase guide

public purse

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /pʌblɪk ˈpɜːs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /pʌblɪk ˈpɜɹs/
  • rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)s

1

noun

Meaning 1

A quantity of money collected by a government through taxation and other methods, and used for public purposes; public funds, public money.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Topics: economics, government, sciences

Examples

  • Money in the public purse should be spent in the public interest.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

9 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 公款 (gōngkuǎn) — quantity of money collected by a government and used for public purposes
  • Chinese Mandarin: 國庫 /国库 (guókù) — quantity of money collected by a government and used for public purposes
  • Finnish: yhteiset varat — quantity of money collected by a government and used for public purposes
  • French: deniers publics — quantity of money collected by a government and used for public purposes
  • German: Staatskasse — quantity of money collected by a government and used for public purposes
  • German: öffentliche Hand — quantity of money collected by a government and used for public purposes
  • Polish: kasa państwowa — quantity of money collected by a government and used for public purposes
  • Polish: skarb państwa — quantity of money collected by a government and used for public purposes
  • Spanish: erario público — quantity of money collected by a government and used for public purposes