Kelter

//ˈkɛltə// noun, slang

noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Archaic form of kilter (“(good) condition, form, or order; fettle”). British, US, alt-of, archaic, dialectal, uncountable

    "Fiscal—Something has been out of kelter at Washington these two years with regard to the rigid application of appropriations, at least in the Indian Department."

  2. 2
    Money. obsolete, slang, uncountable

    "By Jove, says my Lord, all my money is flown, […] Pray say, have you got any kelter to spare?"

  3. 3
    Rubbish; trifle; hodgepodge. British, dialectal, obsolete, uncountable
  4. 4
    in working order wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
collateraldead man's handdead man's handgarbagejunkkilter

Example

More examples

"Fiscal—Something has been out of kelter at Washington these two years with regard to the rigid application of appropriations, at least in the Indian Department."

Etymology

Etymology 1

See kilter.

Etymology 2

Perhaps related to gelt.

Etymology 3

Unknown.

Related phrases

out of keltercard gamedead man's hand

More for "kelter"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.