commercial paper

American  

noun

1. negotiable paper, as drafts, bills of exchange, etc., given in the course of business.

2. corporate promissory notes, usually short-term and unsecured, sold in the open market.

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commercial paper British  

noun

1. a short-term negotiable document, such as a bill of exchange, promissory note, etc, calling for the transference of a specified sum of money at a designated date

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Etymology

Origin of commercial paper

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40

Example Sentences

These components include investments with maturities of three months or less, like money-market funds, Treasury bills, commercial paper and possibly, stablecoins, for which there are no specific accounting rules at present.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

Cass is dismissive of “debt refinancings,” but some of us are old enough to remember the 2008 credit crunch when businesses had trouble issuing commercial paper.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026

“I do not currently see the potential for private credit to contribute to an unexpected credit crunch in the same way that the asset-backed commercial paper market did in 2008,” she said.

From Barron's • Nov. 20, 2025

Multiple options exist for parking cash, such as investing in short-term government securities, money market instruments and corporate commercial paper.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2023

It was the American representative of an English house whose commercial paper our house frequently used.

From My Life in Many States and in Foreign Lands Dictated in My Seventy-Fourth Year by Train, George Francis