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

See Examples For:

central bank

Even so, central bank data showed Russians withdrew 550bn roubles from bank accounts in May, including 200bn roubles from fixed-term deposits.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

Some Fed watchers, like former Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker, think it’s time for the central bank to raise rates.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026

Still, continued central bank gold-buying should be able to limit risk of declines over the longer term, he adds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

It followed new Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh’s first press briefing at the helm of the central bank, where he vowed to get inflation down to 2%.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026

And they recommended that the NIH establish a reference collection of cells: a central bank where all cultures would be tested, cataloged, and stored under maximum security, using state-of-the-art sterile techniques.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot