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• bolivar
  bolivar

  noun

  a coin and monetary unit of Venezuela, equal to 100 centimos. B.
• Bolívar
  Bolívar

  noun

  Simón El Libertador, 1783–1830, Venezuelan statesman: leader of revolt of South American colonies against Spanish rule.
• Bolivar
  Bolivar

  noun

  Simon (siˈmon). 1783–1830, South American soldier and liberator. He drove the Spaniards from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru and hoped to set up a republican confederation, but was prevented by separatist movements in Venezuela and Colombia (1829–30). Upper Peru became a separate state and was called Bolivia in his honour
• bolívar
  bolívar

  noun

  the standard monetary unit of Venezuela, equal to 100 céntimos

bolivar

¹ American  

[bol-uh-ver, buh-lee-vahr, baw-lee-vahr] / ˈbɒl ə vər, bəˈli vɑr, bɔˈli vɑr /

noun

• bolivars,
  plural
• bolivares
  plural

1. a coin and monetary unit of Venezuela, equal to 100 centimos. B.

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Bolívar ² American  

[buh-lee-vahr, baw-lee-vahr] / bəˈli vɑr, bɔˈli ḇɑr /

noun

1. Simón El Libertador, 1783–1830, Venezuelan statesman: leader of revolt of South American colonies against Spanish rule.

2. Pico Bolívar, a mountain in western Venezuela, in the Cordillera Mérida: highest elevation in Venezuela. 16,411 feet (5,007 meters).

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Bolivar ¹ British  

/ ˈbɒlɪˌvɑː, boˈliβar /

noun

1. Simon (siˈmon). 1783–1830, South American soldier and liberator. He drove the Spaniards from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru and hoped to set up a republican confederation, but was prevented by separatist movements in Venezuela and Colombia (1829–30). Upper Peru became a separate state and was called Bolivia in his honour

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bolívar ² British  

/ ˈbɒlɪˌvɑː, boˈliβar /

noun

1. the standard monetary unit of Venezuela, equal to 100 céntimos

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• bolivares
  plural
• bolivars
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bolivar

First recorded in 1880–85; from Latin American Spanish, named after Simón Bolívar

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bolivar Bolívar Bolivar bolívar bolivares bolivars

Rodriguez has already ploughed $300 million from a first US sale of Venezuelan crude into shoring up the country's struggling currency, the bolivar.

From Barron's ● Jan. 29, 2026

Interim president Delcy Rodriguez confirmed that her country had received $300 million from Washington's sale of Venezuelan crude and said she would use it to prop up the bolivar against the dollar.

From Barron's ● Jan. 20, 2026

“The Venezuelan bolivar lost 99.8% in the last 10 years against the U.S. dollar, the Turkish lira lost 80%, the Argentina peso around 94.5%,” said Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino at a recent crypto conference.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026

On Binance, the crypto exchange where many Venezuelans trade the beleaguered local bolivar currency, one U.S. dollar fetched more than 800 bolivars, compared with the central bank’s official rate of 308.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026

Higher oil prices during the second half 1999 took pressure off the budget and currency; the bolivar is widely believed to be overvalued by as much as 50%.

From The 2000 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

One reason Dudamel was happy in Venezuela was his position as music director of the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra, part of El Sistema, the country’s famed music education program.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026

Fish vendor María González counts bolívares, the Venezuelan currency named after Simón Bolívar.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026

Even Símon Bolívar, Venezuela’s “El Libertador,” looked the other way when his cronies squandered the finances of the country.

From Barron's ● Jan. 29, 2026

On a recent afternoon, only a couple of people were inside a popular Venezuelan restaurant, whose parking lot features a life-size statue of Simón Bolívar.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 30, 2025

On that island Bolívar reorganized the government of the Republic in its third period and was again proclaimed Supreme Chief of the Republic, while Mariño was designated Second Chief.

From Simon Bolivar, the Liberator by Guillermo A. Sherwell

The airline said Tuesday it will resume daily nonstop flights between George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston and Simon Bolivar International Airport in Caracas, effective Aug. 11, subject to government approval.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026

Media are expected to assemble when the flight lands more than three hours later at Simon Bolivar Airport, better known as Maiquetia.

From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026

Chávez, a former army officer inspired by Marxist thinkers and revolutionaries such as Simón Bolivar and Fidel Castro, was one of the most consequential political figures in recent Latin American history.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 19, 2026

In her remarks, Machado described the story of military general who fought in America's Revolutionary War who had given a medal to Simon Bolivar, one of the founding father's of modern Venezuela.

From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2026

“Doing wrong and having wrong things happen to you. That’s the problem. Bolivar was talking about the pain, not about the living or dying. How do you get out of the labyrinth of suffering?”

From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green

While the bolívar remains the official currency, the dollar serves as an alternative and benchmark, with both an official exchange rate and a “parallel,” free-market value.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026

Moreover, the exchange rate of gold, RuneScape’s in-game currency, to real-world money was relatively stable in comparison to the bolívar, Venezuela’s currency.

From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2021

And the only reason you get other units being used, like the Venezuelan bolívar, it’s small change.

From The Verge ● Apr. 6, 2021

After saying an emotional goodbye to his family, José arrived in Buenos Aires, with photographs and bolívar coins and tickets as memories of his life back home.

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2020

Hyperinflation has made the Venezuelan bolívar practically worthless.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 30, 2019

The last raise, in April 2022, put monthly pay at 130 bolivares, which at the time was worth $30, but has now dwindled to $3.70.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2023

One big problem is that most Venezuelans earn their salaries in bolivares, the national currency, and don’t have easy access to dollars.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2022

Some teachers will remain absent for fear of getting sick or because of low salaries, she said, adding that the maximum monthly salary for her members is 118 bolivares, equivalent to $27.

From Reuters ● Oct. 25, 2021

With the value of the bolivar at a record low, his 1.25m bolivares will get him just 14 sacks of sugar here in Brazil.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2017

A dollar is worth about sixteen hundred bolivares at the moment.

From The New Yorker ● Nov. 6, 2016

In the hyperinflation of July 2021, sinking your teeth into one of these would have set you back 16.02 million bolivars.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

"Ten years ago, money had value, you could save. Now it's worth nothing," Marín explains, holding up a handful of bolivars.

From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2026

The central bank’s official rate is 360 bolivars per dollar.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026

Increasingly, people live hand to mouth, buying a tomato here, a few onions there as they manage to scrape together enough bolivars for just the basics.

From Barron's ● Nov. 14, 2025

Castro suppressed two newspapers which had become pronounced against him, and in his lack of sufficient funds to carry on the war, levied a million bolivars from the widow of Guzman Blanco, the former president.

From Where Duty Called or, In Honor Bound by Victor St. Clair