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

The Centre for Economic Policy Research study found a 90-basis-point rise in borrowing costs with the loss of reserve currency status.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

The dollar the world's primary reserve currency, meaning it is held by central banks around the world in large quantities as part of their foreign exchange reserves.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

The US's position as the world's largest economy and the dollar being the world's reserve currency gives the US a "much longer runway to fiscally misbehave" than other countries, El-Erian says.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 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

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

From The Civilization of Illiteracy by Mihai Nadin