legal tender

noun

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Definition of legal tender

: money that is legally valid for the payment of debts and that must be accepted for that purpose when offered

Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More about legal tender

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Synonyms for legal tender

Synonyms

bread
[slang],
bucks,
cabbage
[slang],
cash,
change,
chips,
coin,
currency,
dough,
gold,
green,
jack
[slang],
kale
[slang],
lolly
[British],
long green
[slang],
loot,
lucre,
money,
moola
(or moolah)
[slang],
needful,
pelf,
scratch
[slang],
shekels
(also sheqels or shekelim or shekalim or sheqalim),
tender,
wampum

Examples of legal tender in a Sentence

Soon after France adopted the euro, the French franc ceased to be legal tender. coins and bills are considered legal tender, but postage stamps are not

Recent Examples on the Web Inflation accelerated following last month’s decision to re-introduce a Zimbabwean currency as the country’s sole legal tender. — Washington Post, "Zimbabwe’s civil servants protest pay as inflation hits 176%," 16 July 2019 If central banks can surmount the technical difficulties, digital currencies could allow for faster and cheaper money transfers across borders, and could improve access to legal tender in countries where cash supplies are dwindling. — Washington Post, "Why Central Bankers Got Serious About Digital Cash," 20 Oct. 2019 But most of the bills seen in photos by CNN appear to still be legal tender, according to the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing. — Paul P. Murphy, CNN, "Bar donates the $13,961 patrons stapled to the walls to Hurricane Dorian relief in the Bahamas," 2 Oct. 2019 This November Zimbabwe will inject more cash into the economy in the form of new ZWL 2 coins, ZWL 2 and ZWL 5 notes and these will be legal tender alongside the bond notes introduced in 2016 pending their gradual phasing out from the market. — Tawanda Karombo, Quartz Africa, "How to understand why Zimbabwe is bringing back the Zim dollar and the limits of mobile money," 31 Oct. 2019 Though not as crude as President Grant’s coup adding two members to the high bench to win majority approval of his legal tender law, Mr. Roosevelt’s proposal, in its political sense, is designed to achieve the same end. — Olivia B. Waxman, Time, "Some Democrats Want to Make the Supreme Court Bigger. Here's the History of Court Packing," 18 Oct. 2019 Some of the bills were too damaged to count as legal tender. — Paul P. Murphy, CNN, "Bar donates the $13,961 patrons stapled to the walls to Hurricane Dorian relief in the Bahamas," 2 Oct. 2019 Suzanne, the barkeep, instructed us on the method involved in affixing legal tender roughly 10 feet up without benefit of a ladder. — Cirrus Wood, The Mercury News, "Weekend getaway: A Sacramento Delta road trip with bikes, beer and more," 25 Aug. 2019 The largest denomination ever circulated as legal tender was the $10,000 bill. — Anna Diamond, Smithsonian, "Do Goats Really Love to Jump and More Questions From Our Readers," 23 Aug. 2019

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