gold digger
2 synonyms for gold digger, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — A person who forms or keeps up a romantic relationship mainly to get money or an expensive lifestyle out of their partner.
Synonyms
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
opportunist
fortune hunter
How to use gold digger
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
accused of being a gold digger
a gold digger after his money
Always insulting in the relationship sense, and often applied unfairly, so it is worth avoiding in neutral writing.
Etymology
A compound of gold and digger; the figurative sense of someone digging for another person's money grew out of the literal prospecting sense.
Full origin of gold digger →Frequently asked questions
Is 'gold digger' an insult?
Yes. It accuses someone of faking affection for financial gain, and it is levelled far more often at women than at men. Because it is easy to throw at anyone in a relationship with a wealthy partner, it is best treated as an allegation rather than a description.
What is the difference between a gold digger and a fortune hunter?
They mean much the same, but fortune hunter is older and more literary, suggesting someone deliberately seeking out a rich spouse to marry. Gold digger is modern and blunter, and can describe someone simply exploiting a relationship they are already in.
