franc

noun

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\ ˈfraŋk

Definition of franc

1 : any of various former basic monetary units (as in Belgium, France, and Luxembourg)

2 the basic monetary unit of Switzerland and a number of especially sub-Saharan nations in Africa — see Money Table

Examples of franc in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In July, Gottstein had announced a package of strategic initiatives that were projected to yield gross savings of 400-450 million franc ($430-480 million) annually from next year. — Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, "Archegos collapse plunges Credit Suisse back into crisis," 6 Apr. 2021 Steinmetz, who was on trial with two other defendants who received lesser penalties, was ordered to pay a 50-million-Swiss franc ($56.5 million) fine. — Jamey Keaten, Star Tribune, "Israeli diamond tycoon convicted in Swiss corruption trial," 22 Jan. 2021 The absurdity of putting the Swiss franc and the dong in the same basket brings back memories of May 1, 2002. — Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, "The Capital Letter: Week of December 14," 18 Dec. 2020 Switzerland’s intervention, designed to prevent the Swiss franc from appreciating against the dollar, was particularly massive. — Washington Post, "U.S. Treasury labels Vietnam, Switzerland as currency manipulators," 16 Dec. 2020 With that in mind, Mr. Arnault won the bidding war for Boussac, buying the group for a symbolic one franc. — Vanessa Friedman, New York Times, "Tiffany Deal Is a Signature Move by the Sun Tzu of Luxury," 30 Oct. 2020 Still, the franc has gained 5.6% against the dollar this year and traded Monday at $1.09 apiece. — Caitlin Ostroff, WSJ, "Investors Bet on Swiss Franc’s Rise Despite Central Bank Intervention," 5 Oct. 2020 Last December, the West African Economic and Monetary Union bloc of eight mostly French-speaking countries agreed to start phasing out the seven-decade-old common CFA franc this year. — Leanne De Bassompierre, Bloomberg.com, "Ivorian President Doesn’t See Move From CFA Within Three Years," 26 Sep. 2020 Every dollar/euro/Congolese franc that gets to her programs makes a huge difference to the people there. — Bernhard Warner, Fortune, "Global stocks climb ahead of today’s historic U.S. jobless claims report," 16 Apr. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'franc.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

12 Apr 2021

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“Franc.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/franc. Accessed 12 Apr. 2021.

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More Definitions for franc

franc

noun

English Language Learners Definition of franc

: a basic unit of money that is used in some countries where French is spoken and that was formerly used in France, Luxembourg, and Belgium also : a coin or bill representing one franc

See the full definition for franc in the English Language Learners Dictionary

franc

noun

\ ˈfraŋk