riches

noun

USRICH-iz/ɹɪt͡ʃɪz/

3 meanings of riches

1
nounplural
A large amount of money and valuable things that someone owns.
Like a treasure chest packed full of gold coins and jewels.
The pirates buried their riches on a small island.
He gave away most of his riches to help the poor.
Similarwealth, fortune, money, treasure
Oppositepoverty
Note
2
nounfigurativelyplural
A very large amount of something good, like knowledge or beauty.
Like having so much of a good thing that you could never use it all.
The old library offered untold riches to any curious reader.
These wetlands hold riches of birdlife found almost nowhere else.
Similartreasures, wealth, bounty
3
nounnonstandardplural
Wealthy people, thought of together as one group.
In that era the riches lived in mansions above the harbor.
They live in the forest, steal from the riches and help the poors.
2020, Derya Öztürk, Robin Hood (Stage-1)Here, riches means rich people as a group.
Similarwealthy
Oppositepoor
Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of riches apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–2

It comes from an old English word meaning power or wealth. It later got mixed up with an Old French word 'richesse' meaning wealth.

Meaning 3

It comes from 'rich' plus the plural ending '-es', made to match 'poors' meaning poor people.