greenback
Americannoun
noun
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informal an inconvertible legal-tender US currency note originally issued during the Civil War in 1862
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slang a dollar bill
Etymology
Origin of greenback
Explanation
A greenback is a dollar bill. Grab some greenbacks, I hear the ice cream truck coming down our street! The slang term greenback is a little old-fashioned, but it's a perfectly good way to say "buck" or "dollar." You might ask the barista at your neighborhood cafe, "How many greenbacks do I owe you?" or tell your mom you need to borrow some greenbacks and you'll pay her back next week. The word has been used since U.S. money was first printed using green ink, in 1778.
Vocabulary lists containing greenback
Chapter 17: The Civil War
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"Money"
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Chapter 4, Sections 1–4
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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.
Now, one prominent economist is warning that the specific methods used by the Treasury and Federal Reserve to help prop up the struggling yen send a troubling message about the status of the greenback.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
The Japanese unit strengthened from a four-decade low around 163 to the greenback Friday, to 155.23 Monday, its best level since May, before paring the gains.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
Before the U.S. and Japanese governments stepped into the foreign-exchange market to buy the yen on Friday, the Japanese currency had been trading at its lowest level against the greenback for four decades.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
U.S. companies, however, don’t always love a robust greenback because it can reduce the value of their overseas sales and profits.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
I wouldn’t do it even if Anatole paid me in greenback American dollars.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
