cash register

American  

noun

cash registers plural

1. a business machine that indicates to customers the amounts of individual sales, has a money drawer from which to make change, records and totals receipts, and may automatically calculate the change due.

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cash register British  

noun

1. a till with a keyboard that operates a mechanism for displaying and adding the amounts of cash received in individual sales

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cash registers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cash register

An Americanism dating back to 1875–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cash register

BERLIN—Bedran Günes, 23, was manning the cash register at Ari Mini Markt, his grocery store, when two officers walked in, demanding to see his merchandise.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

Decades before plastic became the default currency at the cash register and Venmo became a verb, pulling out a paper checkbook to pay for weekly groceries was a standard routine in American life.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

He compares the situation to a modern store relying on a 19th-century cash register.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

The car business is the cash register that funds the empire.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 15, 2026

Luke stood near the cash register, unsure whether he should follow her.

From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss