Word.ws English Dictionary

holding the purse strings

holding the purse strings is the present participle and gerund of hold the purse strings.

Meaning of hold the purse strings

Verb

hold the purse strings (third-person singular simple present holds the purse strings, present participle holding the purse strings, simple past and past participle held the purse strings)

  1. (colloquial, idiomatic) To be in control of spending; to have financial power and responsibility.
    • The other branch was more immediately the representatives of the people, and it was a maxim that the people ought to hold the Purse-strings.1787, James Madison, The writings of James Madison: comprising his public papers and his private correspondence..., page 158

Questions about holding the purse strings

What is holding the purse strings the present participle and gerund of?
Holding the purse strings is the present participle and gerund of hold the purse strings.

Words near holding the purse strings in the dictionary

  1. holding the book
  2. holding the cards
  3. holding the floor
  4. holding the line
  5. holding the phone
  6. holding the purse strings
  7. holding the reins
  8. holding the ring
  9. holding the road
  10. holding the stage
  11. holding tight

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: holding the purse strings (page history and authors); hold the purse strings (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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