reserve currency

American  

noun

1. any currency, as the U.S. dollar, used as a medium to settle international debts.

---

reserve currency British  

noun

1. foreign currency that is acceptable as a medium of international payments and that is therefore held in reserve by many countries

---

Etymology

Origin of reserve currency

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

reserve currency

For decades, a strong U.S. dollar has been the bedrock of the global financial system, powering trade activities and serving as the world’s primary default reserve currency.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

“We’ve got sluggish growth, high bond yields, bond markets are watching very closely and we don’t have a major reserve currency like the U.S.,” says Michael Saunders, an adviser at Oxford Economics, a consulting firm.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

The U.S. is now the issuer of the world’s reserve currency, the center of the global financial system, and the principal architect of the international economic order.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

The U.S. economy has strong underlying growth, but worries about large fiscal deficits had been acting as a headwind for the dollar, especially given its role as the world’s reserve currency, he noted.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 18, 2026

As a basket of European currencies, the ECU serves as a reserve currency in Europe and probably beyond.

From The Civilization of Illiteracy by Nadin, Mihai