emolument
noun
Did you know?
The U.S. Constitution includes two emoluments clauses: the foreign emoluments clause, in Article 1, Section 9, prohibits federal officeholders from accepting gifts, payments, or other items of value from foreign states or rulers; the domestic emoluments clause, in Article 2, Section 1, prohibits the president from receiving any compensation from the federal government or from any state beyond what Section 1 outlines for compensation for service as the nation’s chief executive. Like most technical legal terms, emolument is Latin in origin, but chew on this: its Latin predecessor meant simply “advantage,” but that word’s source is emolere, meaning “to produce by grinding,” and its relations include such toothsome words as mill and molar.
Examples of emolument in a Sentence
Dan Alexander, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
Trump’s ties to one crypto magnate in particular may raise similar emoluments concerns, according to Accountable.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 27 June 2025
Raskin plans to cite Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution, which says that no one in the federal government can take an emolument in office without the consent of Congress.
—Nik Popli, Time, 13 May 2025
An emolument is any form of payment, gift, salary, or benefit received as compensation for services or as a result of holding an office or position.
—Samantha-Jo Roth, The Washington Examiner, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for emolument
Cite this Entry
“Emolument.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emolument. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
emolument
noun
Legal Definition
emolument
noun
U.S. Constitution art. II
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