peso

noun

pe·​so ˈpā-(ˌ)sō 

ˈpe-

plural pesos

1

: an old silver coin of Spain and Spanish America equal to eight reales

2

the basic monetary unit of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Philippines, and Uruguay see Money Table

Examples of peso in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

On the other hand, the Mexican peso, which is closely tied to the U.S. economy and U.S. trade has been the worst performer among major currencies. —Randy Watts, Forbes.com, 9 June 2025

Photos of ocelots earn 1,500 pesos (~$78), pumas 1,000 pesos (~$52), and bobcats 5,000 pesos (~$26). —Benji Jones, Vox, 21 May 2025

Average family income since 2010 has grown 750% to 17,000 pesos ($297) a month. —Troy Aidan Sambajon, Christian Science Monitor, 20 May 2025

But their accounts remained frozen, and in February three more charges of terrorism financing were levied against Minet so that she was forced to post 600,000 pesos ($10,500) bail. —Charlie Campbell, Time, 16 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, literally, weight, from Latin pensum — more at poise

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

peso

noun

pe·​so ˈpā-sō 

plural pesos

1

: an old silver coin of Spain or Spanish America

2

a

: the basic unit of money of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Philippines, and Uruguay

b

: a coin or bill representing one peso