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.
Yet the greenback has only barely ticked higher.
From MarketWatch • May 15, 2026
Still, Cohen and his team at BofA Global Research see more upside to the dollar, noting that negative sentiment toward the greenback feels stretched.
From MarketWatch • May 15, 2026
In the year to date, it has depreciated over 6% versus the greenback.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama, meanwhile, said it was time for Japan to take “bold action” to protect its currency, which has fallen nearly 25% against the greenback over the past four years.
From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026
Even better, every other person “dropped some greenback love,” as Cool Papa would say, down into Wah-Wah Nita’s open guitar case.
From "Clayton Byrd Goes Underground" by Rita Williams-Garcia
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.
