lira

[ leer-uh; Italian lee-rah ]

/ ˈlɪər ə; Italian ˈli rɑ /

Save This Word!

noun, plural li·re

[leer-ey; Italian lee-re], /ˈlɪər eɪ; Italian ˈli rɛ/, li·ras.

a coin and monetary unit of Italy until the euro was adopted, equal to 100 centesimi. Abbreviation: L., Lit.

a monetary unit of Malta, San Marino, and the Vatican City until the euro was adopted.

a silver, bronze, or chrome steel coin and monetary unit of Turkey, equal to 100 kurus; equal to 100 piasters before 1933; Turkish pound. Abbreviation: TL.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of lira

1610–20; <Italian <Old Provençal lieura<Latin lībra pound

Words nearby lira

liquorice, liquorice allsorts, liquorish, liquor store, liquor up, lira, lira da braccio, lirella, lirellate, liriodendron, liriope

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use lira in a sentence

Unemployment and inflation are high, and the lira is weaker and more volatile, but Erdogan has rejected orthodox economic management.
The Top 10 Global Risks of 2022|Ian Bremmer|January 3, 2022|Time
The lira reversed earlier gains against the dollar after the announcement.
Erdogan hails Turkey’s biggest ever energy discovery. The markets are unimpressed|Bernhard Warner|August 21, 2020|Fortune
Ismail Adin, another shop owner in Beyoglu, also said sales of alcohol were down, from about 5,000 Lira a day to 2,000 Lira.
With New Turkish Liquor Ban, Raki Goes Underground|Thomas Seibert|June 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Photojournalist Ana Lira is from the northeastern city of Recife and a founding member of Urban Rights.
Brazil’s World Cup Is An Expensive, Exploitative Nightmare|Vac Verikaitis|May 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

I get 400 Turkish lira ($198) a month and 300 of that goes on rent.
Syria’s Christians Flee Kidnappings, Rape, Executions|Jamie Dettmer|November 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Over 60 percent of Italians polled in late May said life was better with their old lira currency.
Silvio Berlusconi, Comeback Kid? Italy’s Ex-P.M. Leverages Euro Crisis|Barbie Latza Nadeau|June 30, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Lire: the lira is an Italian coin of the value of a franc (say, tenpence).
The Browning Cyclopdia|Edward Berdoe
He also added that Carpazzi was supposed to be in love with her, and she with him, but they had not a lira to marry on.
The Title Market|Emily Post
Eighteen dollars in real money, sir, and about two dollars in lira money.
Dave Darrin on Mediterranean Service|H. Irving Hancock
The entrance fee is one lira, and the old custodians follow the visitor about as though the latter wished to eat the bronzes.
Rambles in Rome|S. Russell Forbes
Between the thumb and forefinger of an ungloved fair right hand, she held up a silver lira.
My Friend Prospero|Henry Harland

British Dictionary definitions for lira

lira

/ (ˈlɪərə, Italian ˈliːra) /

noun plural lire (ˈlɪərɪ, Italian ˈliːre) or liras

the former standard monetary unit of Italy, San Marino, and the Vatican City, divided into 100 centesimi; replaced by the euro in 2002

Also called: pound the standard monetary unit of Turkey, divided into 100 kuruş

the former standard monetary unit of Malta, divided into 100 cents or 1000 mils; replaced by the euro in 2008

Word Origin for lira

Italian, from Latin lībra pound

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012