shekel

noun

shek·​el ˈshe-kəl 

variants or sheqel

plural shekels or shekalim she-ˈkä-lim  or shekelim shē-ˈkā-lim  or sheqalim she-ˈkä-lim 

1

a

: any of various ancient units of weight

especially : a Hebrew unit equal to about 252 grains troy

b

: a unit of value based on a shekel weight of gold or silver

2

: a coin weighing one shekel

3

shekels plural, informal : money

He speculated that … it would cost him $48 per jersey, or $4.8 million. Later, a league source told him the projected cost was closer to a mere $700,000. That's still a lot of shekels …

—David Fink

4

: the basic monetary unit of Israel see Money Table

Synonyms of shekel

• money
• cash
• coin
• bucks
• currency

Examples of shekel in a Sentence

if I had the shekels, I'd be first in line to buy one of the new vehicles

Recent Examples on the Web

Petro-dollars, electro-dollars, multi-dollars, Reichsmarks, rins, rubles, pounds, and shekels. —Merrill Markoe, Rolling Stone, 23 Sep. 2025

Even eggplants—once a modest, accessible item—are selling for 100 shekels (about $27.00) per kilogram. —Ghada Abdulfattah, The Atlantic, 5 Aug. 2025

In May of this year alone, foreign investors bought approximately 2.5 billion shekels ($743 million) in TASE shares, according to Israeli news outlet Ynet. —Natasha Turak, CNBC, 18 July 2025

Palestinians use the Israeli currency, the shekel, for most transactions. —Wafaa Shurafa, Fortune, 11 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Hebrew sheqel

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for shekel

• decal
• freckle
• meckel
• speckle
• thecal

Kids Definition

shekel

noun

shek·​el ˈshek-əl 

1

: an ancient unit of weight or value

especially : a Hebrew unit equal to about 252 grains troy (about 16.3 grams)

2

: a coin weighing one shekel

3

: the basic unit of money of Israel