cash cow

noun

1
: a consistently profitable business, property, or product whose profits are used to finance a company's investments in other areas
2
: one regarded or exploited as a reliable source of money
a singer deemed a cash cow for the record label

Examples of cash cow in a Sentence

The football team was a cash cow for the university. The movie studio saw the actress as a cash cow.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
At the time, teen powerhouses like Aaliyah, Brandy, and Monica were blowing up the charts and Interscope was hoping Mýa could be their own proverbial cash cow. Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 18 May 2026 No doubt, watching TV live is becoming a thing of the past, and the glitzy nightly talk show that used to be a network cash cow has become a trickier economic proposition. David Sims, The Atlantic, 15 May 2026 Marcus considers reviving it in the mold of the Ace Hotel — turning nostalgia into a boutique cash cow — but Deborah deems the idea too risky to back. Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 24 Apr. 2026 Biglari turned it into a cash cow generating more than $250 million in total operational earnings through 2016. Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for cash cow

Word History

First Known Use

1972, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of cash cow was in 1972

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cash cow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cash%20cow. Accessed 22 May. 2026.

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