voucher

American  

[vau-cher] / ˈvaʊ tʃər /

noun

• vouchers
  plural

1. a person or thing that vouches.

2. a document, receipt, stamp, or the like, that gives evidence of an expenditure.

3. a form authorizing a disbursement of cash or a credit against a purchase or expense to be made in the future.

4. a written authorization.

5. a piece of evidence or proof.

6. school voucher.

7. Early English Law.

   1. a person called into court to warrant another's title.

   2. the act of vouching another person to make good a warranty.

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verb (used with object)

1. to pay for, guarantee, or authorize by voucher.

2. to prepare a voucher for.

voucher British  

/ ˈvaʊtʃə /

noun

1. a document serving as evidence for some claimed transaction, as the receipt or expenditure of money

2. a ticket or card serving as a substitute for cash

   a gift voucher

3. a person or thing that vouches for the truth of some statement, etc

4. any of certain documents that various groups of British nationals born outside Britain must obtain in order to settle in Britain

5. obsolete English law

   1. the summoning into court of a person to warrant a title to property

   2. the person so summoned

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voucher Cultural  

1. A credit of a certain monetary value that can be used only for a specified purpose, such as to pay for housing or for food. Food stamps are a kind of voucher.

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Discover More

Some economists believe that goods and services supplied by the government would be provided more efficiently if vouchers that could be spent only on such goods and services were given to citizens, and private business competed to provide those goods and services.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• voucherable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vouchers
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of voucher

First recorded in 1525–35; from Anglo-French voucher “to vouch”; originally a French infinitive used as noun but now taken as verb vouch + -er ¹

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Explanation

A voucher is a certificate or document that either allows you to purchase something or proves that you paid for something. A voucher is sometimes valuable. When you can vouch for someone, you're willing to recommend them and say they're a good person. A voucher does something similar. For many workers, a voucher is a receipt that proves they spent money on something, like travel, which their company will later pay for. A voucher is also a type of coupon that allows you to purchase something for less or no money, even tuition to a school. Both types of vouchers allow you to save money.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

voucher vouchers

Even those who have already booked a flight should keep tracking it: If the fare does happen to drop, the airline could issue a voucher for the difference.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

The Body Shop offers a £5 birthday voucher to members.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

A peer-reviewed study by Scott Niederjohn and Will Flanders, and published in the Journal of School Choice, examined state test scores for students in the statewide and Racine voucher programs from 2018 to 2022.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

“But that’s not the vast majority of private schools,” said Douglas Harris, a Tulane University economist who studies voucher programs and has expressed skepticism that a free-market approach works well for schools.

From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026

She pays with some kind of coupon or voucher.

From "Free Lunch" by Rex Ogle

They said: "Scammers can easily create convincing false profiles, which are built to use trusted relationships to manipulate people into sending money, bank details or vouchers."

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

Abbott spent a substantial amount of his political capital on that vouchers bill.

From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026

Local governments offer subsidized housing and office space as well as computing-power vouchers to access AI more cheaply.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Cat euthanasia rates at Los Angeles shelters have climbed this year, partially due to limited spay and neuter vouchers and the high cost of veterinary care, animal advocates say.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026

Some draw on government help in the form of food stamps, housing vouchers, the earned income tax credit, or—for those coming off welfare in relatively generous states—subsidized child care.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

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Related Words

• certificate
• coupon
• receipt
• ticket

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