Meaning of hold the purse strings | Babel Free

Definitions

To be in control of spending; to have financial power and responsibility.

colloquial, idiomatic

Equivalents

Examples

“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.”

“The power structure of the family is being shared by wives and husbands, mothers and fathers. Both hold the purse strings.”

CEFR level