legal tender
noun
: money that is legally valid for the payment of debts and that must be accepted for that purpose when offered
Synonyms
Examples of legal tender in a Sentence
Soon after France adopted the euro, the French franc ceased to be legal tender.
coins and bills are considered legal tender, but postage stamps are not
Recent Examples on the Web
In 2021, El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as a legal tender alongside the US dollar.
—
Michael Rios, CNN, 7 Apr. 2024
Bukele’s attention-grabbing, quixotic bid to make bitcoin legal tender in El Salvador has done little to address deeper problems.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 6 Feb. 2024
This initiative is part of the Bitcoin BTC 0.0% strategy the government of Nayib Bukele has been following since declaring bitcoin legal tender in 2021.
—Javier Bastardo, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2023
Twenty of those countries use the euro, legal tender for about 350 million people.
—Paul Lewis, New York Times, 27 Dec. 2023
They are considered legal tender and have a face value recognized by the government.
—The Salt Lake Tribune, 27 Apr. 2023
Even El Salvador, which adopted bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, has had a hard time getting its citizens on board.
—Erika Page, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 Feb. 2024
Other countries that have adopted the U.S. dollar include El Salvador — which also made bitcoin legal tender — Panama and Zimbabwe.
—Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post, 12 Dec. 2023
The Royal Mint made a similar announcement, pointing out that new coins will enter circulation but coins with the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II will remain legal tender.
—Victoria Murphy, Town & Country, 26 Sep. 2022
Michael Rios, CNN, 7 Apr. 2024
Bukele’s attention-grabbing, quixotic bid to make bitcoin legal tender in El Salvador has done little to address deeper problems.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 6 Feb. 2024
This initiative is part of the Bitcoin BTC 0.0% strategy the government of Nayib Bukele has been following since declaring bitcoin legal tender in 2021.
—Javier Bastardo, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2023
Twenty of those countries use the euro, legal tender for about 350 million people.
—Paul Lewis, New York Times, 27 Dec. 2023
They are considered legal tender and have a face value recognized by the government.
—The Salt Lake Tribune, 27 Apr. 2023
Even El Salvador, which adopted bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, has had a hard time getting its citizens on board.
—Erika Page, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 Feb. 2024
Other countries that have adopted the U.S. dollar include El Salvador — which also made bitcoin legal tender — Panama and Zimbabwe.
—Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post, 12 Dec. 2023
The Royal Mint made a similar announcement, pointing out that new coins will enter circulation but coins with the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II will remain legal tender.
—Victoria Murphy, Town & Country, 26 Sep. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'legal tender.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Legal tender.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legal%20tender. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
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