Word.ws English Dictionary

holds the purse strings

holds the purse strings is the third-person singular simple present indicative 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 holds the purse strings

What is holds the purse strings the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Holds the purse strings is the third-person singular simple present indicative of hold the purse strings.

Words near holds the purse strings in the dictionary

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

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: holds 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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