found money

noun

Unexpected money that one obtains in a manner that differs from one's usual sources of income.

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Meanings

nounfound money (uncountable)
  1. uncountableUnexpected money that one obtains in a manner that differs from one's usual sources of income.

    You can slice some girth from your debt load with a couple of big lump-sum payments, courtesy of any found money that comes along.

    2004, Dan Benson, 12 Stupid Mistakes People Make with Their Money, page 64
    2 more examples

    Note, though, that the rules of mental accounting are flexible—people are complicated. Sometimes they will categorize tax refunds, especially when they are small, as found money—and spend it accordingly.

    2010, Gary Belsky, Thomas Gilovich, Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes and How to Correct Them

    My father's attitude toward his hoard was that it was almost found money. The money had trickled in little by little, and he never felt the sacrifice of saving.

    2013, Raymar Rodriguez, The Little Red Book of Financial Happiness: Life After Prison, page 62
  2. uncountableUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see found, money. Money that one finds.
Cite this entry
APA

found money. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/found%20money

MLA

“found money.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/found%20money. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “found money,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/found%20money.

Source: found money on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.