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
Regional sports networks once were viewed as cash cows for teams and TV programming companies that owned them, but, in recent years, at least one regional sports network owner has filed for bankruptcy.
—
Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
As margins expand, Appian should become a cash cow, making disciplined capital allocation increasingly important for a company that hasn't had the strongest track record of doing so.
—Kenneth Squire, CNBC, 7 Feb. 2026
Students should not be exploited as cash cows for the political scheming of adults.
—Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 3 Feb. 2026
The overall result was that Chávez and his successor, Nicolás Maduro, continued to use the Orinoco as a cash cow, doing little to maintain it, and so essentially ran a large part of it into the ground over the next decade.
—Scott Montgomery, Forbes.com, 25 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cash cow
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.
Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
As margins expand, Appian should become a cash cow, making disciplined capital allocation increasingly important for a company that hasn't had the strongest track record of doing so.
—Kenneth Squire, CNBC, 7 Feb. 2026
Students should not be exploited as cash cows for the political scheming of adults.
—Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 3 Feb. 2026
The overall result was that Chávez and his successor, Nicolás Maduro, continued to use the Orinoco as a cash cow, doing little to maintain it, and so essentially ran a large part of it into the ground over the next decade.
—Scott Montgomery, Forbes.com, 25 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cash cow
Cite this Entry
“Cash cow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cash%20cow. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
