shekel

American  

[shek-uhl] / ˈʃɛk əl /

noun

1. Also sheqel a paper money, cupronickel or silver coin, and monetary unit of Israel equal to 100 agorot: replaced the pound in 1980.

2. an ancient, originally Babylonian, unit of weight, of varying value, taken as equal to the fiftieth or the sixtieth part of a mina or to about a quarter to half an ounce.

3. a coin of this weight, especially the chief silver coin of the ancient Hebrews.

4. Slang. shekels, money; cash.

---

shekel British  

/ ˈʃɛkəl /

noun

1. the standard monetary unit of modern Israel, divided into 100 agorot

2. any of several former coins and units of weight of the Near East

3. informal (often plural) any coin or money

---

Etymology

Origin of shekel

First recorded in 1550–60, shekel is from the Hebrew word sheqel

Example Sentences

Right now, the shekel is quite strong: 1 Israeli New Shekel is equal to $0.31 U.S. dollars.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 22, 2025

A string of people come to Saadani's table, showing her the flaws in their Israeli shekel notes.

From Barron's • Nov. 29, 2025

Gaza, like other Palestinian territories, uses the shekel as its primary currency, with some transactions done in U.S. dollars or the Jordanian Dinar.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2024

Looking to next year, Shmuel Katzavian, a strategist at Israel's Discount Bank, expects the shekel to continue to strengthen.

From Reuters • Nov. 7, 2023

Oh! beautiful indeed, and to an imposing degree, with long straight nose, full orbs, pursing lips, clean-chiselled regular contour; but the earliest lesson they learn is how many grains Troy go to a silver shekel.

From Romantic Spain A Record of Personal Experiences (Vol. I) by O'Shea, John Augustus