petty cash
11
3.2
- noun
- /ˈpɛti kæʃ/
:
caja chica
- We can pay for the office supplies using the petty cash kept in the drawer.
- petty cash fund
- petty cash drawer
- petty cash box
Examples
-
I could pay you out of petty cash for a while, then write the bishop and see if there's money for bigger jobs.
Fiction book (1993) -
You got any petty cash on you?
-
Do we have any of the- the petty cash left?
-
See if you can find any petty cash, all right?
-
I took the petty cash.
-
You do have enough from petty cash, right?
-
I had to dip into petty cash.
-
This feast represents the last of the petty cash.
-
Last week I discovered thirty-five pounds missing from the petty cash.
Fiction book (1996) -
She handles the payroll and petty cash.
Antonyms
How Much
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a small amount of money kept for minor expenses' is directly derivable from combining 'petty' (minor, trivial) with 'cash' (money). This adjective + noun composition follows standard, transparent semantics and is likely accessible to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.
Etymology
Petty cash comes from the word petty meaning 'small' and cash meaning money; picture a small box of coins on the office desk used for stamps or coffee. That's why petty cash means 'a small amount of money kept at hand for minor expenses'.