passbook

American  

[pas-book, pahs-] / ˈpæsˌbʊk, ˈpɑs- /

noun

1. a bankbook.

2. (formerly) a small book or ledger for each customer in which a merchant keeps a record of goods sold on credit and the amounts owed and paid.

3. South African. reference book.

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passbook British  

/ ˈpɑːsˌbʊk /

noun

1. a book for keeping a record of withdrawals from and payments into a building society

2. another name for bankbook

3. a customer's book in which is recorded by a trader a list of credit sales to that customer

4. (formerly in South Africa) an official document serving to identify the bearer, his race, his residence, and his employment

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Etymology

Origin of passbook

First recorded in 1820–30; pass + book

Example Sentences

Mr. Dell told the Journal he had $8 in a passbook savings account as an eight-year old and enjoyed watching it grow.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 2, 2025

South Africans used to go to collect a passbook, or a "dompas", that controlled where they could travel.

From BBC • Sep. 2, 2023

She takes out her passbook from under her mattress.

From The Guardian • Dec. 6, 2017

Early in the novel we learn that one day during Anna’s adolescence, Eddie vanished, leaving behind an envelope of cash and the passbook for a previously undisclosed bank account.

From Slate • Oct. 10, 2017

Instead of putting the rest in my savings passbook, I gave Vonetta the other two quarters to put away for the concert.

From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia