War chest

War chest

In business, a war chest is a stash of money set aside to deal with unexpected changes in the business environment, or to use when expansion possibilities arise. The term originates with the medieval practice of having a chest, literally, filled with money to open in time of war.

Today companies can use accumulated cash or rely on quickly raised debt which costs less to carry when you don't need it. This is not always a reasonable substitute, as the debt available to a company typically drops as a result of the same actions that require the war chest to be opened.

This term is also used in politics, referring to the stash of money that a candidate or party has to use for an anticipated election campaign.


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Look at other dictionaries:

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  • war chest — war chests N COUNT A war chest is a fund to finance a project such as a political campaign. Governor Caperton has the largest campaign war chest …   English dictionary

  • war chest — A war chest is a fund that can be used to finance a campaign like and election or for use in emergencies or unexpected times of difficulty …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • war chest — ► NOUN ▪ a reserve of funds used for fighting a war …   English terms dictionary

  • war chest — war ,chest noun count MAINLY JOURNALISM money that a political party or a business has available to spend on something such as an election CAMPAIGN or a business deal …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • war chest — war′ chest n. money set aside for a particular purpose, as a political campaign • Etymology: 1900–05, amer …   From formal English to slang

  • war chest — ☆ war chest n. a fund, as of contributions from individuals, created for a particular purpose, as a political campaign …   English World dictionary

  • war chest — noun a fund accumulated to finance a war (or a political campaign) • Topics: ↑politics, ↑political science, ↑government • Hypernyms: ↑fund, ↑monetary fund * * * noun : a fund accumulated to finance a war; …   Useful english dictionary

  • war chest — Cash kept aside for a takeover or for defense against a takeover bid. Bloomberg Financial Dictionary * * * war chest ˈwar chest noun [countable usually singular] JOURNALISM FINANCE a large amount of money that a company has in its …   Financial and business terms

  • war chest — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms war chest : singular war chest plural war chests mainly journalism money that a political party or a business has available to spend on something such as an election campaign or a business deal …   English dictionary

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