paper money

American

noun

currency in paper form, such as government and bank notes, as distinguished from metal currency.

paper money British

noun

paper currency issued by the government or the central bank as legal tender and which circulates as a substitute for specie

"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

Etymology

Origin of paper money

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

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.

See Examples For:

paper money

And while it’s easy to create wealth through raising billions in capital or taking on debt, turning paper money into actual cash is harder to do.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 10, 2026

Quantitative easing, or the creation of new paper money with which to buy government securities, seems never to have entered Bagehot’s mind.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

And there wouldn’t be the sustained dollar depreciation we take for granted under modern paper money.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2025

The new appeal came as US media reported a backpack thought to belong to the suspect recovered near the scene contained a Tommy Hilfiger jacket and paper money from the board game Monopoly.

From BBC ● Dec. 8, 2024

There was no sign of any paper money at all.

From "Trouble at the Arcade (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #1)" by Franklin W. Dixon

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023