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

But the bank’s blue passbook also gave Roy dignity, a sense of being part of society, a feeling of equality with other Indians, and the power to make her own decisions.

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

The town’s teachers served as agents of the bank and every week collected money from the children for deposit in each child’s passbook account.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson