financial
Americanadjective
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pertaining to monetary receipts and expenditures; pertaining or relating to money matters; pecuniary.
financial operations.
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of or relating to those commonly engaged in dealing with money and credit.
noun
adjective
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of or relating to finance or finances
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of or relating to persons who manage money, capital, or credit
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informal having money; in funds
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(of a club member) fully paid-up
Synonym Usage
Financial, fiscal, monetary, pecuniary refer to matters concerned with money. Financial usually refers to money matters or transactions of some size or importance: a financial wizard. Fiscal is used especially in connection with government funds, or those of any organization: the end of the fiscal year. Monetary relates especially to money as such: a monetary system or standard. Pecuniary refers to money as used in making ordinary payments: a pecuniary obligation or reward.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of financial
Explanation
If you are short on cash, you might say you have a financial problem. Talking about finances is a polite and formal way to refer to money. The similarity between the words financial and finish is no accident. Both come from the Old French word fine, which was generally used to mean "end" or "finish" and more specifically to mean "end a debt." If you pay a fine, you end the debt you owe society for, say, spitting your gum on the sidewalk, or failing to clean up after your dog.
Vocabulary lists containing financial
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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Michelle Obama's final address as First Lady (2017)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Industry executives also say they aren’t permitting as many adjustments to financial metrics, such as removing one-time or discretionary expenses, that can make companies look more creditworthy than they actually are.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
The proposal called for the wealth fund’s profits to be given directly to citizens, allowing more people to benefit from the upside of the technology’s growth, including those not invested in the financial markets.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
Extra training sessions, leading on and off the field amid the turmoil of a points deduction for financial issues.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
The firm noted that the post-earnings selloff is almost entirely due to the company’s net new annual recurring revenue of $34 million, with news of the financial chief retirement adding an “incremental overhang.”
From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026
They helped to distract outsiders from the truly profane event: the growing misalignment of interests between the people who trafficked in financial risk and the wider culture.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
