voucher

American  

[vau-cher] / ˈvaʊ tʃər /

noun

• vouchers
  plural

1. a person or thing that vouches.

2. a document, receipt, stamp, or the like, that gives evidence of an expenditure.

3. a form authorizing a disbursement of cash or a credit against a purchase or expense to be made in the future.

4. a written authorization.

5. a piece of evidence or proof.

6. school voucher.

7. Early English Law.

   1. a person called into court to warrant another's title.

   2. the act of vouching another person to make good a warranty.

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verb (used with object)

1. to pay for, guarantee, or authorize by voucher.

2. to prepare a voucher for.

voucher British  

/ ˈvaʊtʃə /

noun

1. a document serving as evidence for some claimed transaction, as the receipt or expenditure of money

2. a ticket or card serving as a substitute for cash

   a gift voucher

3. a person or thing that vouches for the truth of some statement, etc

4. any of certain documents that various groups of British nationals born outside Britain must obtain in order to settle in Britain

5. obsolete English law

   1. the summoning into court of a person to warrant a title to property

   2. the person so summoned

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voucher Cultural  

1. A credit of a certain monetary value that can be used only for a specified purpose, such as to pay for housing or for food. Food stamps are a kind of voucher.

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Discover More

Some economists believe that goods and services supplied by the government would be provided more efficiently if vouchers that could be spent only on such goods and services were given to citizens, and private business competed to provide those goods and services.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• voucherable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vouchers
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of voucher

First recorded in 1525–35; from Anglo-French voucher “to vouch”; originally a French infinitive used as noun but now taken as verb vouch + -er ¹

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Explanation

A voucher is a certificate or document that either allows you to purchase something or proves that you paid for something. A voucher is sometimes valuable. When you can vouch for someone, you're willing to recommend them and say they're a good person. A voucher does something similar. For many workers, a voucher is a receipt that proves they spent money on something, like travel, which their company will later pay for. A voucher is also a type of coupon that allows you to purchase something for less or no money, even tuition to a school. Both types of vouchers allow you to save money.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

voucher vouchers

UCB said its upgraded guidance excludes proceeds from the sale of a priority-review voucher, an incentive program created by the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

California’s $1-billion clean truck voucher program was designed to accelerate adoption of zero-emission vehicles through state-funded vouchers, as well as to reduce pollution from the state’s robust shipping industry.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026

If we wanted our school to tap the voucher money, we’d have to go through some additional steps such as getting criminal background checks.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

Even those who have already booked a flight should keep tracking it: If the fare does happen to drop, the airline could issue a voucher for the difference.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

The letter was a kind of voucher, a pass that would admit him back into the family.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Raman has described the city’s use of hotel and motel rooms for temporary housing as expensive and ineffective, saying short-term rental vouchers are a better alternative.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

They've set up a new campaign called CourtRobe which asks high street department stores in Scotland to donate vouchers or clothing and give staff specialist training to help women dress for court.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

You may wish to look into what financial support may be available for a family caregiver, like Medicare’s home-health services, in addition to Section 8 housing and housing-choice vouchers.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026

Abbott spent a substantial amount of his political capital on that vouchers bill.

From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026

And there were museum tickets and swimming lesson vouchers and videos of wondrous places Josie’s father had never even heard of, that Josie would need to pretend she’d visited for real.

From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

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Related Words

• certificate
• coupon
• receipt
• ticket

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