purchasing power: Meaning and Definition of

pur'chasing pow"er

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. Also calledthe ability to purchase goods and services.
  2. the value of money in terms of what it can buy at a specified time compared to what it could buy at some period established as a base: the purchasing power of the dollar.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.