Cha-Ching
/tʃə ˈtʃɪŋ/noun
An interjection representing the sound of a cash register and expressing the receipt or earning of money.
Did you know?The expression imitates the bell and drawer mechanism of older cash registers, whose audible sound helped signal that a sale had been recorded.
Etymological Timeline
Late 19th Century
English
ching
“An imitative word for a sharp metallic ringing sound; its precise origin is sound symbolism rather than an inherited ancient root.”
Late 19th–Early 20th Century
English
cash register bell
“Mechanical cash registers commonly used bells or metallic signals to announce recorded transactions.”
Mid-20th Century
American English
ka-ching
“A colloquial imitation of the cash-register sound, used to suggest money being received.”
1950s–1960s
American English
cha-ching
“A variant spelling and pronunciation of ka-ching, increasingly used in popular speech and writing.”
Modern English
English
cha-ching
“An interjection expressing financial gain, a profitable result, or sometimes ironic excitement about money.”