shilling

noun shil·ling \ ˈshi-liŋ \

|Updated on: 18 Jul 2018

Definition of shilling

1 a : a former monetary unit of the United Kingdom equal to 12 pence or ¹/₂₀ pound

b : a former monetary unit equal to ¹/₂₀ pound of any of various countries in or formerly in the Commonwealth of Nations

2 : a coin representing one shilling

3 : any of several early American coins

4 the basic monetary unit of Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda — see Money Table

See shilling defined for English-language learners

See shilling defined for kids

Recent Examples of shilling from the Web

Photo: Tommy Trenchard for The Wall Street Journal Clients pay Mr. Abdirahman in Somaliland shillings.

— matina stevis-gridneff, WSJ, "An Isolated Country Runs on Mobile Money," 8 July 2018
The yield on Kenya’s Eurobonds due 2024 fell six basis points to 6.35 percent, while the shilling strengthened 0.1 percent to 101.10 per dollar by 1:50 p.m. in Nairobi.

— Bloomberg.com, "Political Crisis Eases as Kenya's Odinga Vows to End Dissent," 9 Mar. 2018
Ugandans will have to cough up 200 Ugandan shillings ($0.05) a day to use popular platforms like Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp.

— damilola odutayo, CNN, "People in Uganda now have to pay tax to use WhatsApp and other social media," 1 June 2018
Participation ranges at the extremes, from the preaching of zealots to shilling and promotion by corporate representatives.

— eve macsweeney, Vogue, "Inside the Copenhagen Fashion Summit: Well-Dressed Danes and Why You Shouldn’t Wear Spandex," 17 May 2018
In the summer of 1600 she was indicted at Middlesex Sessions for stealing two shillings and eleven pence.

— Longreads, "The Roaring Girls of Queer London," 8 May 2018
Tanzania’s vaguely worded law, which came into effect last month, seems to require almost anyone who publishes content online in the country to buy a licence for 2.1m Tanzanian shillings (around $900).

— The Economist, "How African governments try to control what is said online," 19 Apr. 2018
The pace of living quickens continuously, yet a full understanding of things temporal still eludes us More than 200 years ago Benjamin Franklin coined the now famous dictum that equated passing minutes and hours with shillings and pounds.

— gary stix, Scientific American, "Time and Technology March On Together," 19 Jan. 2012
The Kenyan shilling inched higher against the dollar soon after the joint statement by the two leaders.

— matina stevis-gridneff, WSJ, "Amid U.S. Pressure, Kenyan Rivals Pledge to End Strife," 9 Mar. 2018

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