legal tender

noun

: money that is legally valid for the payment of debts and that must be accepted for that purpose when offered

Synonyms

• bread [slang]
• bucks
• cabbage [slang]
• cash
• change
• chips
• coin
• currency
• dough
• gold
• green
• jack [slang]
• kale [slang]
• lolly [British]
• long green [slang]
• loot
• lucre
• money
• moola [slang]
• moolah
• needful
• pelf
• scratch [slang]
• shekels
• sheqels
• shekelim
• shekalim
• sheqalim
• tender
• wampum

Examples of legal tender in a Sentence

Soon after France adopted the euro, the French franc ceased to be legal tender.

coins and bills are considered legal tender, but postage stamps are not

Recent Examples on the Web

Singapore’s Monetary Authority stopped issuing one-cent coins from April 2002, though existing one-cent coins remain legal tender. —Chad De Guzman, TIME, 10 Feb. 2025

Since adopting bitcoin as legal tender, El Salvador has charted a new course. —Dave Birnbaum, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025

The Central American country adopted Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021. —Alex Recouso, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024

Consider the most recent developments: President Nayib Bukele’s El Salvador, the first nation to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, has reported more than $333 million in Bitcoin profits. —Frank Holmes, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1730, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

legal tender

noun

: money that the law authorizes for paying debts

Legal Definition

legal tender

noun

: money that is legally valid for the payment of debts and that must be accepted for that purpose when offered