rial

1 of 2

noun (1)

ri·​al rē-ˈȯl 

-ˈäl

variants or less commonly riyal

: the basic monetary unit of Iran, Oman, and Yemen see Money Table

rial

2 of 2

noun (2)

ri·​al

less common spelling of riyal

: the basic monetary unit of Qatar and Saudi Arabia see Money Table

Examples of rial in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The value of the country’s currency has hit a record low of over two million rials to the dollar. — Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2026

Tehran citizen Hamid Mirzei, 43, said food prices have kept rising and a grocery trip just for staples, like beans and lentils, can cost up to 100 million rials ($73). — ABC News, 7 Sep. 2026

There is a sharp gap between that rate, however, and the official rate determined by the government, which, as of Friday, put the rial at about 42,000 to the dollar. — Mark Osborne, CBS News, 7 Sep. 2026

Official inflation is near 90%, the rial has passed 2 million to the dollar, and the IMF has this year put the contraction in a range of about 5 to 6 percent, per Anadolu's explainer and the Fund's later wartime update. — Güney Yıldız, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Persian, from Arabic riyāl riyal

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1930, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for rial

• denial
• mistrial
• posttrial
• pretrial
• retrial
• dial
• thiol
• trial
• vial
• sensorial