franc

American  

[frangk, frahn] / fræŋk, frɑ̃ /

noun

francs plural

1. an aluminum or nickel coin and monetary unit of France, Belgium, and Luxembourg until the euro was adopted, equal to 100 centimes. F., f., Fr, fr.

2. any of the monetary units of various other nations and territories, as Liechtenstein, Martinique, Senegal, Switzerland, and Tahiti, equal to 100 centimes.

3. a former silver coin of France, first issued under Henry III.

4. a former monetary unit of Algeria, Guinea, and Morocco.

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franc British  

/ fræŋk, frɑ̃ /

noun

1. Also called: French franc.  the former standard monetary unit of France, most French dependencies, Andorra, and Monaco, divided into 100 centimes; replaced by the euro in 2002

2. the former standard monetary unit of Belgium ( Belgian franc ) and Luxembourg ( Luxembourg franc ), divided into 100 centimes; replaced by the euro in 2002

3. Also called: Swiss franc.  the standard monetary unit of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, divided into 100 centimes

4. Also called: franc CFA.   CFA franc.   franc of the African financial community.  the standard monetary unit, comprising 100 centimes, of the following countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo

5. the standard monetary unit of Burundi ( Burundi franc ), Comoros ( Comorian franc ), Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaïre; Congolese franc ), Djibouti ( Djibouti franc ), Guinea ( Guinea franc ), Madagascar ( franc malgache ), Rwanda ( Rwanda franc ), and French Polynesia and New Caledonia ( French Pacific franc )

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• francs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of franc

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English frank, from Middle French franc, so called because the coin was first inscribed with the name of the king as Medieval Latin Rēx Francōrum “King of the Franks”; Frank ¹ ( def. ); frank ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

franc francs

Goldman said the amount of carry available relative to expected volatility in trades such as U.S. dollar-Canadian dollar and euro-Swiss franc is now close to multidecade highs.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026

Switzerland's central bank left interest rates unchanged at zero percent on Thursday, a move widely expected by analysts, but said it was watching out for signs of upward pressure on the Swiss franc currency.

From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026

He said interest rates in major currency areas had risen, increasing the difference between Swiss rates and thereby easing upward pressure on the franc.

From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026

Ypsomed’s Michel, who’s also a national center-right politician, has proposed a 10,000 franc fee, or about $12,500, for businesses that want to employ EU citizens, to encourage them to recruit and train Swiss people.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

Every franc we’d saved up had gone to Eeben Axelroot, because Father had to bribe him flat-out to fly the two of us back from Léopoldville.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Shares trade 1.5% lower at 201.6 Swiss francs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Shares trade 5.9% lower at 3,186 Swiss francs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

The appreciation of the Swiss franc, notably against the U.S. dollar, hurt results when reported in Swiss francs compared with a constant-currency basis, it said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Compared with the same period a year earlier, sales grew 6% on a constant exchange rate basis and exceeded the 30.27 billion Swiss francs analysts had expected, according to a company compiled consensus.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

It is easy: some weeks he can make as much as five hundred francs.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr