Meaning & use
cash-strapped
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivenot comparableinformal
having very little money available and therefore unable to spend or invest as usual
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb such as be, seem, or become; it has no comparative form.
Patterns
- cash-strapped + noun
- be cash-strapped
The cash-strapped city had to close two libraries.
After the strike, the airline was cash-strapped and cut several routes.
A cash-strapped student may still find free ways to have fun.
Common combinations
- cash-strapped government
- The cash-strapped government delayed the road repairs.
- cash-strapped business
- Many cash-strapped businesses applied for emergency loans.
- cash-strapped consumer
- Cash-strapped consumers are buying cheaper brands.
- financially cash-strapped
- The charity became financially cash-strapped after donations fell.
Synonyms and how they differ
- broke
- Broke is much more informal and usually describes a person with no money at all, while cash-strapped can describe organizations and suggests a temporary shortage.
- short of cash
- This phrase is a neutral, slightly more formal way to say the same thing and often follows the verb be.
- strapped for cash
- This is an informal idiom with the same meaning, but it usually comes after be rather than before a noun.
Opposites
Commonly confused: cash-strapped or strapped?
cash-strapped vs strapped
Strapped alone can mean fastened with straps or, informally, short of something; cash-strapped specifies that the shortage is money.
Practice
The museum was so ______ that it canceled its summer festival.
Choose one answer.
The adjective cash-strapped fits after 'was so' to describe a lack of money. 'Cash-strapping' is not a real form, 'cash-strap' is a verb that does not fit here, and 'cash-strapped for' would need a following noun phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cash-strapped”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.