purse

purse purse [pɜːs ǁ pɜːrs] noun [singular]

1. the amount of money that a person, organization, or country has available to spend:

• We offer holidays to suit every purse.

2. the public purse ECONOMICS the money controlled by a government:

• The project is a continuing drain on the public purse.

• These payments should be met out of the public purse.

3. hold/​control the purse strings to control how money in a company, family etc is spent

4. tighten/​loosen the purse strings to increase or reduce the control you have over spending:

• The government has decided that it must now tighten the purse strings.

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purse UK US /pɜːs/ noun [C] FINANCE

► [usually singular] the total amount of money that a person, organization, or government has available to spend: »

Having a lot of people out of work places a large drain on the public purse.

»

The motor company sought to sell 'a car for every purse'.

► an amount of money that is offered as a prize in a sports competition: »

The sponsorship deal includes a €10,000 purse for the winner of the tournament.

→ See also ELECTRONIC PURSE(Cf. ↑electronic purse)

● hold/control the purse strings — Cf. hold the purse strings

● loosen the purse strings — Cf. loosen the purse strings

● tighten the purse strings — Cf. tighten the purse strings