peso

American  

[pey-soh, pe-saw] / ˈpeɪ soʊ, ˈpɛ sɔ /

noun

• pesos
  plural

1. a coin and monetary unit of Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guinea-Bissau, Mexico, and the Philippines, equal to 100 centavos.

2. a coin and monetary unit of Uruguay, equal to 100 centesimos.

3. a former monetary unit of Argentina, equal to 100 centavos: replaced by the austral in 1985.

4. a former silver coin of Spain and Spanish America, equal to eight reals; dollar; piece of eight; piaster.

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peso British  

/ ˈpeso, ˈpeɪsəʊ /

noun

1. the standard monetary unit, comprising 100 centavos, of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and the Philippines; formerly also of Guinea-Bissau, where it was replaced by the CFA franc

2. the standard monetary unit of Uruguay, divided into 100 centesimos

3. another name for piece of eight

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pesos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of peso

< Spanish: literally, weight < Latin pēnsum something weighed, noun use of neuter of pēnsus, past participle of pendere to weigh

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

peso pesos

That and oil price buoyancy pushed the peso up 10% against the dollar this year despite budgetary travails.

From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026

Later dubbed "quantitative easing", such upheavals included the 1980s savings and loan crisis, the first Gulf War, the Mexican peso crisis and - shortly after he had retired - the global credit crisis in 2008.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

To stabilize the peso, the central bank hiked the benchmark interest rate to a stifling 11.25%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026

BCA Research analysts see Mexico’s stocks, peso and bond markets poised to outperform peers.

From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026

I devise myself a peso plan, for the trip in general—food and stuff—but especially for my feet.

From "Beast Rider" by Tony Johnston & María Elena Fontanot de Rhoads

The U.S. set up a swap line with Argentina to provide access to U.S. dollars and the Treasury under Bessent has bought Argentine pesos to prop up its currency.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

He said players would pay him 100 pesos or roughly two dollars, which he would split between himself and his mum for their household's groceries.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

On Monday, the Central Bank opened trading with a new official dollar rate of 9.73 Bolivian pesos, close to the current parallel rate.

From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026

Few paid less than the equivalent of USD$1,500 in Mexican pesos and some went as high as $4,000 or more.

From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026

She took out some pesos, which she handed to her brother, and then she pinned the seam back together with a safety pin.

From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty