lira
Americannoun
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lire,
plural
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liras
plural
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a coin and monetary unit of Italy until the euro was adopted, equal to 100 centesimi. L., Lit.
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a monetary unit of Malta, San Marino, and the Vatican City until the euro was adopted.
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a silver, bronze, or chrome steel coin and monetary unit of Turkey, equal to 100 kurus; equal to 100 piasters before 1933; Turkish pound. TL.
noun
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the former standard monetary unit of Italy, San Marino, and the Vatican City, divided into 100 centesimi; replaced by the euro in 2002
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Also called: pound. the standard monetary unit of Turkey, divided into 100 kuruş
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the former standard monetary unit of Malta, divided into 100 cents or 1000 mils; replaced by the euro in 2008
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lira
1610–20; < Italian < Old Provençal lieura < Latin lībra pound
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Turkey's biggest clubs generate substantial income in euros through Uefa competition while many domestic operating costs remain in Turkish lira.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Elsewhere, Turkey has drawn down about 60 metric tons from its reserves since the conflict began — about $8 billion worth of gold — to defend the lira, she said.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 4, 2026
The U.S. dollar nevertheless hit a record high against the Turkish lira on Wednesday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
The cuts sent the lira plunging on currency markets, further fuelling inflation and leading Erdogan to reverse his unorthodox policy in 2023.
From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 2026
I paid him when it was over and tipped him half a lira.
From "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
The prosecutor's indictment, however, estimates total losses to Thodex investors at 356 million liras.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2023
Hatzigeorgiou says he often finds bags and backpacks with Turkish liras or packets of medicine in Turkish discarded around the village by people on the move.
From Reuters ● Aug. 25, 2023
The central bank said exporters would be required to exchange 25% of their foreign currency revenue into liras.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 19, 2022
“The rent has gone up from 1,500 liras to almost 2,500 liras since last year. I don’t know where this is all going.”
From New York Times ● Nov. 30, 2021
This, for two tickets, would make 580 liras.
From Sea and Sardinia by D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence
Last year, workers conserving adult shoes found an Italian 100 lire banknote in a lady’s high-heeled shoe that was also imprinted with the name Ranzini, which was a shoe manufacturer in Trieste.
From Seattle Times ● May 15, 2023
“I told them my asking price was 1 million lire, thinking that would put a stop to the whole thing,” Lollobrigida told Vanity Fair in 2015.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 16, 2023
He’d find an envelope with a few thousand old Italian lire under his pillow.
From New York Times ● Dec. 14, 2021
During one production, said Sheridan Hill, a writer preparing a personal biography of Mr. Lazar for his family, U.S. actors in Italy were concerned about the currency and didn’t want to be paid in lire.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 9, 2016
One evening I was short of money and George loaned me a hundred lire.
From "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
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