foreign exchange

noun

1
: a process of settling accounts or debts between persons residing in different countries
2
: foreign currency or current short-term credit instruments payable in such currency

Examples of foreign exchange in a Sentence

Our country has to export more in order to earn more foreign exchange.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Probably this would be a good situation to put to use that country-specific flat-rate tariff mentioned earlier, which would provide some cushioning against the effects of foreign exchange swings. Nathan Lewis, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025 Image Some fear that China’s central bank, which commands $3 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, including $761 billion in U.S. Treasury debt, could be selling as a form of retaliation for American tariffs. Peter S. Goodman, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2025 Although the dollar overtook the British pound sterling in the mid-1920s as the currency of choice in global foreign exchange reserves, its stature as the world’s reserve currency was secured only at the Bretton Woods conference toward the end of World War II. Edward Fishman, Foreign Affairs, 8 Apr. 2025 Spencer Platt | Getty Images The rollout of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs regime is dampening sentiment toward the dollar and prompting investors to look elsewhere for their foreign exchange (FX) trades, strategists told CNBC. Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 2 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for foreign exchange

Word History

First Known Use

1623, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of foreign exchange was in 1623

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Cite this Entry

“Foreign exchange.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foreign%20exchange. Accessed 28 Apr. 2025.

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