Treasury bill

American  

Or treasury bill

noun

1. an obligation of the U.S. government represented by promissory notes in denominations ranging from $1000 to $1,000,000, with a maturity of about 90 days but bearing no interest, and sold periodically at a discount on the market.

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Treasury bill British  

noun

1. a short-term noninterest-bearing obligation issued by the Treasury, payable to bearer and maturing usually in three months, within which it is tradable on a discount basis on the open market

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Etymology

Origin of Treasury bill

First recorded in 1790–1800

Example Sentences

On Wednesday, Koguan said he was still “mostly” invested in Tesla and Treasury bills.

From MarketWatch

On Wednesday, Koguan said he was still “mostly” invested in Tesla and Treasury bills.

From MarketWatch

Berkshire ended 2025 with a record $373.1 billion in cash and Treasury bills after accounting for a payable for purchasing some of the short-term government debt, a 4% increase from three months earlier.

From The Wall Street Journal

The total size of the Treasury market was a little over $30 trillion as of last month; about $6.5 trillion of the borrowing is in Treasury bills.

From MarketWatch

A cleaner approach would be an automatic Treasury-Fed asset swap after QE ends, in which the Fed exchanges its long-term bonds for short-term Treasury bills.

From Barron's