slush fund
noun
1
: a fund raised from the sale of refuse to obtain small luxuries or pleasures for a warship's crew
2
: a fund for bribing public officials or carrying on corruptive propaganda
3
: an unregulated fund often used for illicit purposes
Examples of slush fund in a Sentence
a secret slush fund for paying bribes
Recent Examples on the Web
These charges, Mayweather says, imply that the Pacquiao revenue pool was used as a slush fund to pay unrelated costs, like the Berto payout.
—
Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 4 Feb. 2026
Three months later, Jackson pleaded guilty to misusing $750,000 in campaign funds — spending the money as a personal slush fund, and served 23 months in prison.
—Todd Feurer, CBS News, 2 Feb. 2026
Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled Japan almost continuously for the last 30 years, became mired in crisis – facing fallouts over a slush fund scandal, an inflation surge and a rightward political shift across the country.
—Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 21 Jan. 2026
Fight over 'slush fund' provision The push to reopen the government hit a major snag when House Republicans began criticizing members of their own party in the Senate over a provision in the shutdown-ending funding package.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 13 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for slush fund
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.
Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 4 Feb. 2026
Three months later, Jackson pleaded guilty to misusing $750,000 in campaign funds — spending the money as a personal slush fund, and served 23 months in prison.
—Todd Feurer, CBS News, 2 Feb. 2026
Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled Japan almost continuously for the last 30 years, became mired in crisis – facing fallouts over a slush fund scandal, an inflation surge and a rightward political shift across the country.
—Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 21 Jan. 2026
Fight over 'slush fund' provision The push to reopen the government hit a major snag when House Republicans began criticizing members of their own party in the Senate over a provision in the shutdown-ending funding package.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 13 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for slush fund
Cite this Entry
“Slush fund.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slush%20fund. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
