as in money
something (as pieces of stamped metal or printed paper) customarily and legally used as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means of payment
made some real wampum on that last business deal
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wampum
Some of their gear—a pair of shoes, a VHF radio, a wampum sash worth several thousand dollars—now resides on the canal’s bottom.
—
Ben McGrath, The New Yorker, 3 July 2023
There is a really quite amazing scene when Civility and Satcheechoe take a string of wampum and wrap it around the Pennsylvania governor’s arm to symbolically pull him to Albany to meet with all the Native people who have become involved in this case.
—Karin Wulf, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Apr. 2021
Not only were these beads a coveted status symbol, but the powerful Mohawk of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (or Five Nations Iroquois) of what is now upstate New York, raided coastal peoples who did not furnish wampum for Haudenosaunee rituals.
—National Geographic, 19 Nov. 2020
Many of his pieces are horizontal, recalling the forms of early panoramic art and the woven wampum belts that are a cultural touchstone of his people.
—New York Times, 4 Oct. 2021
See All Example Sentences for wampum
Ben McGrath, The New Yorker, 3 July 2023
There is a really quite amazing scene when Civility and Satcheechoe take a string of wampum and wrap it around the Pennsylvania governor’s arm to symbolically pull him to Albany to meet with all the Native people who have become involved in this case.
—Karin Wulf, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Apr. 2021
Not only were these beads a coveted status symbol, but the powerful Mohawk of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (or Five Nations Iroquois) of what is now upstate New York, raided coastal peoples who did not furnish wampum for Haudenosaunee rituals.
—National Geographic, 19 Nov. 2020
Many of his pieces are horizontal, recalling the forms of early panoramic art and the woven wampum belts that are a cultural touchstone of his people.
—New York Times, 4 Oct. 2021
See All Example Sentences for wampum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wampum
Noun
-
Youngkin in 2021 raised $2.2 million in contributions, but the millionaire investor bolstered his war chest with $5.5million of his own money, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.—
Savannah Kuchar,
USA Today,
21 Apr. 2025
-
So, what are the chances that anyone will be investigated for Hope Florida’s potentially criminal use of public money to fund a political campaign to defeat an amendment to the constitution of the state of Florida?—
Letters to the editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
20 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
In turn, the government must borrow other money from the public to raise the cash needed.—
Doug Criscitello,
Forbes.com,
14 Apr. 2025
-
Skilled thieves target specific homes and literally knock on the door and otherwise check to find a time when nobody is home, then the crooks burglarize the home quickly looking for jewelry and cash.—
Greg Fisher,
CBS News,
14 Apr. 2025
Noun
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While Smoke heads to town to buy provisions for the club, Stack and Sammie hire another musician, the elderly Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), who has been playing harmonica for coins at the train station.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2025
-
Some have rewards like valuable expendable items, such as keys to open locked doors or coins to exchange for tools like shovels and compasses.—
Diego Argüello,
Rolling Stone,
12 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
For creators and small businesses, adaptability is the new currency, said Murad Salikhov, co-founder of Schwarzwald Capital, a venture capital fund focused on fintech and the creator economy.—
Anisha Sircar,
Forbes.com,
15 Apr. 2025
-
The central bank strengthens or weakens its currency against a basket of its main trading partners, thus effectively setting the S$NEER.—
Lim Hui Jie,
CNBC,
14 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The Trump White House has overhauled the Oval Office with striking new gold trimming on portrait frames and tables.—
Joey Garrison,
USA Today,
24 Apr. 2025
-
Both her documentary and Farhadi’s narrative feature were inspired by a real-life incident in 2011 in which a man in Iran on furlough from a debtors’ prison found a bag of gold coins and returned them to their owner rather than keeping them for himself.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
24 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wampum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wampum. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.
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