central bank

American  

noun

1. a bank, as the Federal Reserve Bank, that holds basic banking reserves, issues currency, and acts as lender of last resort and controller of credit.

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central bank British  

noun

1. a national bank that does business mainly with a government and with other banks: it regulates the volume and cost of credit

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Etymology

Origin of central bank

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

Meanwhile, continued gold purchases by China’s central bank, alongside ongoing reserve diversification by central banks globally, also provided underlying support for bullion.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 8, 2026

This has especially been the case since the 2008-09 global financial crisis, with central banks keeping interest rates much lower than the rate at which economies are growing, Perkins noted.

From MarketWatch • Jul. 3, 2026

Maechler, herself a former governing board member at the Swiss National Bank, said it was vital for central banks to "be able to carry out their mandate with complete independence".

From Barron's • Jun. 28, 2026

However, the BIS didn’t recommend that central banks should raise borrowing costs in an effort to tame the investment boom, citing high levels of uncertainty about its consequences.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 28, 2026

The economy now can be thought of as an entity which responds to actions by central banks; we call that monetary policy.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker