reserve currency

noun

1. any currency, as the U.S. dollar, used as a medium to settle international debts.

reserve currency

noun

1. foreign currency that is acceptable as a medium of international payments and that is therefore held in reserve by many countries

Word History and Origins

Origin of reserve currency¹

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

I think very recent history has showed that those reserve currencies were not always available and as liquid as they were intended to be.

From Time

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Kenya said this week that it will use bitcoin as a reserve currency amid the Kenyan Shilling volatility against the dollar.

From TechCrunch

How much confidence they’ll still have in the world’s reserve currency is anybody’s guess.

From Fortune

Who would take the weaker dollars China would unload onto this reserve currency?

From The Daily Beast

But China will be happy as it wants SDRs to replace the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency.

From The Daily Beast