cash cow
noun
1
: a consistently profitable business, property, or product whose profits are used to finance a company's investments in other areas
2
: one regarded or exploited as a reliable source of money
a singer deemed a cash cow for the record label
Examples of cash cow in a Sentence
The football team was a cash cow for the university.
The movie studio saw the actress as a cash cow.
Recent Examples on the Web
Fixing the problem Perhaps the biggest challenge facing Boeing—and by extension its airline customers—at the moment is the production cap imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Boeing’s cash cow 737 Max aircraft.
—
Prarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 13 May 2024
Climate & Environment Sea lions are cash cows in the Bay Area.
—Hailey Branson-Potts, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2024
While many sequels feel like attempts to milk a cash cow, others, like Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge novels, bring fresh delight.
—Heller McAlpin, NPR, 7 May 2024
ByteDance owns both TikTok and Douyin, and although TikTok has more users around the world, Douyin is the company’s cash cow and a China mainstay.
—Alexandra Stevenson, New York Times, 6 May 2024
Rin Tin Tin, a battlefield rescue from the First World War, was the cash cow that propelled the career of Darryl Zanuck and the rise of Warner Bros.; Lassie got the industry through the star-wary years of the Red Scare.
—Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 6 May 2024
In recent years, the touring industry has milked a cash cow of bands playing classic records in full, but Sunny Day’s decision to both tour and release an album shows a true commitment to the bit.
—Reed Jackson, SPIN, 2 May 2024
The Ahmanson can no longer be counted on as the cash cow, as the subscription model has become less reliable and competition for Broadway tours has grown more intense.
—Charles McNulty, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2024
Yet they have been forced to grab the hind legs of the CFP cash cow and hold on, together, for dear life.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 3 Apr. 2024
Prarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 13 May 2024
Climate & Environment Sea lions are cash cows in the Bay Area.
—Hailey Branson-Potts, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2024
While many sequels feel like attempts to milk a cash cow, others, like Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge novels, bring fresh delight.
—Heller McAlpin, NPR, 7 May 2024
ByteDance owns both TikTok and Douyin, and although TikTok has more users around the world, Douyin is the company’s cash cow and a China mainstay.
—Alexandra Stevenson, New York Times, 6 May 2024
Rin Tin Tin, a battlefield rescue from the First World War, was the cash cow that propelled the career of Darryl Zanuck and the rise of Warner Bros.; Lassie got the industry through the star-wary years of the Red Scare.
—Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 6 May 2024
In recent years, the touring industry has milked a cash cow of bands playing classic records in full, but Sunny Day’s decision to both tour and release an album shows a true commitment to the bit.
—Reed Jackson, SPIN, 2 May 2024
The Ahmanson can no longer be counted on as the cash cow, as the subscription model has become less reliable and competition for Broadway tours has grown more intense.
—Charles McNulty, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2024
Yet they have been forced to grab the hind legs of the CFP cash cow and hold on, together, for dear life.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 3 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cash cow.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near cash cow
Cite this Entry
“Cash cow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cash%20cow. Accessed 19 May. 2024.
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