dry powder

[ drahy pou-der ]

noun

1. cash reserves, liquid assets, or easily liquidated assets such as readily saleable stocks and bonds, held by a corporation or an individual in order to cover current or future obligations, make new purchases, or take advantage of unforeseen opportunities:

   Stick with small investments for now, but keep some dry powder on hand in case we start to see this industry grow stronger.

2. powder ¹( def 3 ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of dry powder¹

First recorded in 2000–05 dry powder fordef 1

Example Sentences

But once refinancing starts to slow, banks may face lower margins as they run out of dry powder.

From The Daily Beast

Any colour that can be obtained in a fine dry powder may be used in wood-block printing.

From Project Gutenberg

The heat and the vacuum reduce the extract to a dry powder in less than one revolution of the drum.

From Project Gutenberg

Mix this chloride of silver, in a dry powder, with three times its weight of pipe-clay well burnt and pounded.

From Project Gutenberg

Powder-blue, mix'd with the saffron-water, makes a green; for blue, mix some dry powder-blue with some water.

From Project Gutenberg

Safely landed, Robbie shouldered the climbing ropes and I took the gun, having a stock of dry powder and shot in my pockets.

From Project Gutenberg