Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

billfold

American  
[bil-fohld] / ˈbɪlˌfoʊld /

noun

  • billfolds
    plural
  1. a thin, flat, folding case, often of leather, for carrying paper money in the pocket and with fewer compartments than a wallet.

  2. wallet.


billfold British  
/ ˈbɪlˌfəʊld /

noun

  1. Also called (in Britain and other countries): wallet. a small folding case, usually of leather, for holding paper money, documents, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of billfold

An Americanism dating back to 1890–95; bill 1 + fold 1

Compare meaning

How does billfold compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

Explanation

A billfold is a slim wallet meant to hold paper money and a few cards. You might keep your billfold in the back pocket of your jeans. There isn't much difference between a wallet and a billfold: typically, a billfold is thinner and has fewer slots for holding cards. Billfolds are most often made of leather and fit neatly in a pocket. The word dates from the late 1800s, from bill, or "paper money," and fold, which is thought to be short for folder.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing billfold

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:

After Connor Halsa and a cousin hooked and reeled in what they thought was a fish, they instead found a billfold full of greenbacks.

From Washington Times ● Aug. 23, 2023

An unhosted wallet is then, as Coin Telegraph puts it, the crypto equivalent of the billfold where you store your hard cash.

From Slate ● Feb. 9, 2022

It needs to be durable, versatile, stylish — and, well, not too hard on what’s in your billfold.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 11, 2018

Driesell pulled out his billfold and peeled bills off until all his money was gone.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 28, 2018

A billfold with a twenty-dollar bill—“In case you get stranded at the airport in some small town and have to buy food,” his mother had said—and some odd pieces of paper.

From "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen

Coach, founded as a family business in 1941, originally specialized in leather wallets and billfolds.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 15, 2017

Perhaps they have developed a product that consists of a large cylinder on a rotating spindle that is designed to hold multiple billfolds.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 2, 2015

Visiting Americans with swollen billfolds are warmly welcomed, but the course is really there for the McIlroys of the future.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 9, 2015

High-piled was the Palmer House with balloons, sheets, watch fobs, razor blades, doll carriages, billfolds, tumblers, electric irons, toasters, waffle irons, windproof cigaret lighters, astrological charts, pith helmets.

From Time Magazine Archive

She opened the door, prepared to admit three neighbors; instead, she discovered two strangers—men who tipped their hats and flipped open badge-studded billfolds.

From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training