coin of the realm
Americannoun
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.
PHILADELPHIA—The first coin of the realm reached its last moment.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 12, 2025
Hollywood’s coin of the realm is not work, but employment; not talent, but success; not pictures, but the power they imply, or fail to.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2024
Fawning adoration was the coin of the realm, but it could only rent you real estate near the big guy.
From Slate • Feb. 27, 2023
At the end of the day, the vetted fact is the coin of the realm.
From Salon • Feb. 9, 2023
The children used them for trading purposes, for games and coin of the realm.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
