cash in

verb

cashed in; cashing in; cashes in

transitive verb

: to obtain cash for
cashed in the bonds

intransitive verb

1
a
: to retire from a gambling game
b
: to settle accounts and withdraw from an involvement (such as a business deal)
2
: to obtain advantage or financial profit
—often used with on
cash in on a bestseller

Synonyms

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of cash in in a Sentence

some observers thought the lawyers were cashing in on the tragedy
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.
Hong Kong’s response is to require treasuries—or cash in a statutory trust—plus same‑day redemption, so any run simply liquidates the reserve. — Zennon Kapron, Forbes.com, 19 June 2025 General manager Chris Getz’s bets on prospects have to cash in to build a foundation. — Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 18 June 2025 But the patriotic pitch drew immediate skepticism, and not just over President Trump trying to cash in again while in office. — Verne Kopytoff, Fortune, 18 June 2025 The Trump family licensed its name to the U.S. mobile service, the latest venture aiming to cash in on the president's political and cultural influence. — USA Today, 18 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for cash in

Word History

First Known Use

1888, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of cash in was in 1888

Rhymes for cash in

See All Rhymes for cash in

Browse Nearby Words

cashier's check
cash in
cash in on
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cash in.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cash%20in. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

cash in

verb
1
: to obtain cash for
cashed in her bonds
2
: to benefit financially
souvenir sellers cashed in at the fair
cashing in on their brother's fame
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!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

More Words You Always Have to Look Up

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Should that word have a hyphen?

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

How 'Namaste' Entered The English Language

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

10 Hella Good U.S. Regionalisms

Better Ways to Say 'This Sucks'

8 Words with Fascinating Histories
See More

Popular

See More

More Words You Always Have to Look Up

How 'Namaste' Entered The English Language

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
illustration of alice and tweedledee and tweedledum
Guess the Literary Image We show you the art, you guess the literary work....
See All