adjective
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of or relating to money or currency
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of or relating to monetarism
a monetary policy
Synonym Usage
See financial.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of monetary
First recorded in 1660–70; from Late Latin monētārius “pertaining to the mint”; see money, -ary
Explanation
If it has to do with money or currency, it’s monetary, like your childhood toy collection that has no monetary value, but you love it nonetheless. The adjective monetary is related to a Latin word that means “mint,” which is not just a refreshing gum or ice cream flavor but, in this case, where money is made. Anything that pertains to money can be described as monetary, like a country whose monetary system consists of metal coins of different denominations or an antiques expert who can tell you the monetary value of the old things in our attic.
Vocabulary lists containing monetary
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "M"
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Franklin D. Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address (March 4, 1933), List 1
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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.
“We believe the monetary policy board is split between a hold and a pre-emptive hike,” Barclays economist Bum Ki Son said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Warsh said that doing so "would allow more information to accumulate between meetings than under current practice and provide policymakers and the staff more time to consider strategic monetary policy issues," the minutes said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Meta claimed in its filings that the attorneys general were seeking roughly $1.4 trillion in monetary damages, just below the company’s market cap, or the total value of its stock.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
There’s also been confusion over future monetary policy at the Fed, preventing the stabilization of longer-duration Treasury debt, she added.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
He, like virtually all the others, worked in more than one field: he published on monetary reform as well as astronomy.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
