gold digger
Gold digger (noun) means a person who forms or keeps up a romantic relationship mainly to get money or an expensive lifestyle out of their partner. Example: “His family were convinced she was a gold digger after the inheritance.”
How to use gold digger
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishSomeone who dates a person for their money.
Always insulting in the relationship sense, and often applied unfairly, so it is worth avoiding in neutral writing.
Usually written as two words in British English; gold-digger with a hyphen is also common.
Trace the full origin ↓Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
His family were convinced she was a _____ after the inheritance.
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.
