rupee
Americannoun
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a cupronickel coin and monetary unit of India, Nepal, and Pakistan, equal to 100 paise. R., Re.
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a cupronickel coin and monetary unit of Mauritius, the Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, equal to 100 cents.
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Also called rufiyaa. a coin and monetary unit of the Maldives, equal to 100 laris.
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a former monetary unit of Bhutan, equal to 100 naye paise.
noun
Etymology
Origin of rupee
First recorded in 1605–15, rupee is from the Hindi word rupayā
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.
This, he said, is affecting the risk appetite of upper-middle-class Indian families, particularly as the weaker rupee has made an overseas education more expensive than ever.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
According to his calculations, the Indian rupee has depreciated by between 35% and 47% against the currencies of major study destinations since 2019.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
The Reserve Bank of India met against a backdrop of sharp rupee depreciation and acute economic risks, as the Iran crisis drives up energy prices, threatening to stoke inflation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
Last month, the RBI’s counterpart in Indonesia delivered a sizable 50-basis-point hike—its first in years—to support the rupiah, which, along with the rupee, is one of Asia’s worst-performing currencies so far this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
That women’s wages be increased from one rupee twenty-five paisa a day to three rupees, and men’s from two rupees fifty paisa to four rupees fifty paisa a day.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
