peso

[ pey-soh; Spanish pe-saw ]

See synonyms for: pesos on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural pe·sos

[pey-sohz; Spanish pe-saws]. /ˈpeɪ soʊz; Spanish ˈpɛ sɔs/.

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

a former monetary unit of Argentina, equal to 100 centavos: replaced by the austral in 1985.
a former silver coin of Spain and Spanish America, equal to eight reals; dollar; piece of eight; piaster.

Origin of peso

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

Words Nearby peso

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

How to use peso in a sentence

Could peso-trash be a serious threat to the lively and tactile scene down the hill?
The Second Life of San Miguel de Allende | Michele Willens | February 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Nation has interesting monetary system based on peso with peso being worth 100 centavos and centavo being worth nothing.
Up to a Point: PJ O’Rourke on Sochi and Senate Slackers | P. J. O’Rourke | February 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
In memory of the late lamented general the present five-peso bank notes bear his vignette.
The Philippine Islands | John Foreman
In one section of the Philippines, I know, the Chinese pay one peso (50 cents gold) a tree for the nuts and pick them themselves.
Where Half The World Is Waking Up | Clarence Poe
He also owned the one I was living in, and for this I paid him the not very exorbitant sum of one peso (two shillings) a month.
Wanderings Among South Sea Savages And in Borneo and the Philippines | H. Wilfrid Walker

A peso de oro, or "dollar of gold," had about the intrinsic value of our dollar, but was then really worth far more.
The Spanish Pioneers | Charles F. Lummis
First of all, they arbitrarily declared the dollar, the peso and the shilling to be without value.
West Wind Drift | George Barr McCutcheon

British Dictionary definitions for peso

peso

/ (ˈpeɪsəʊ, Spanish ˈpeso) /

nounplural -sos (-səʊz, Spanish -sos)

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
the standard monetary unit of Uruguay, divided into 100 centesimos

another name for piece of eight

Origin of peso

C16: from Spanish: weight, from Latin pēnsum something weighed out, from pendere to weigh

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

Browse