legal tender

noun

1. currency that may be lawfully tendered in payment of a debt, such as paper money, Federal Reserve notes, or coins.

legal tender

noun

1. currency in specified denominations that a creditor must by law accept in redemption of a debt

legal tender

1. Any form of money that a government decrees must be accepted in payment of debts.

Word History and Origins

Origin of legal tender¹

First recorded in 1730–40

Example Sentences

All UK coins featuring the late Queen's profile remain legal tender and in active circulation, alongside her son's coins.

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Last year, the country welcomed a record 3.9 million tourists, including cryptocurrency evangelists drawn by Bukele’s short-lived experiment in making Bitcoin legal tender.

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"I'll accept any legal tender - I'm not going to tell people how to pay for their goods," she added.

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Suddenly I realized — a shock to the system! — you needed legal tender in order to live.

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In 2022, CAR became the world's second country after El Salvador to adopt the cryptocurrency Bitcoin as legal tender.

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