reserve currency

American  

noun

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

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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

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Etymology

Origin of reserve currency

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

reserve currency

“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

Another popular theme among U.S. doomsayers is the idea that the dollar’s status as the global reserve currency is under threat.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 28, 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

That said, the U.S. has more room to borrow than those countries because it controls the world’s reserve currency, and because of Treasury debt’s position as a haven for investors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 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