lira

1 of 4

noun (1)

li·​ra ˈlir-ə 

ˈlē-rə

plural lire ˈlē-(ˌ)rā  also liras

: the basic monetary unit of Italy until 2002

lira

2 of 4

noun (2)

plural liras

: the basic monetary unit of Turkey see Money Table

lira

3 of 4

noun (3)

plural liroth or lirot ˈlē-ˌrōt 

-ˌrōth

: the former Israeli pound

lira

4 of 4

noun (4)

plural liri ˈlē-(ˌ)rē 

: the basic monetary unit of Malta until 2008

Examples of lira in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Lies, lust and Italian lira are abound in this Disney+ exclusive Simpsons noir. — Joe Otterson, Variety, 28 May 2026

The fuel tax was budgeted to raise roughly 600 billion lira in 2026. — Güney Yıldız, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2026

The shift puts at risk the lira carry trade — a strategy in which investors borrow in low-yield currencies to buy higher-yield assets — that has been a hot emerging-markets’ bet for almost three years. — Kerim Karakaya, Bloomberg, 11 May 2026

One night in March, 35 billion lira (valued at the time at around $21 million) was stolen from the security company's vaults in Rome. — Rory Doherty, Time, 26 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Italian, from Latin libra, a unit of weight

Noun (2)

Turkish, from Italian

Noun (3)

Modern Hebrew, from Italian

Noun (4)

Maltese, from Italian

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1617, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1871, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

circa 1946, in the meaning defined above

Noun (4)

circa 1985, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lira

• hera
• lire
• mira
• pyrene
• sera
• sirrah
• syrah
• hegira
• taira
• leptospira

Kids Definition

lira

noun

li·​ra

ˈlir-ə

1

plural lire

ˈlē-ˌrā

also liras : the basic unit of money of Italy until 2002

2

plural liras : the basic unit of money of Turkey

3

: a coin or bill representing one lira