as in cash
something (as pieces of stamped metal or printed paper) customarily and legally used as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means of payment
coins and bills are considered legal tender, but postage stamps are not
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of legal tender
In early 2022, Nayib Bukele—the president of El Salvador who made Bitcoin legal tender in his country—photoshopped himself wearing a McDonald’s uniform after the cryptocurrency dropped.
—
Carlos Garcia, Fortune, 29 Nov. 2025
Impact on Customers Though the penny will remain legal tender, everyday cash transactions may increasingly resemble McDonald’s policy, with retailers rounding to the nearest nickel when pennies are unavailable.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2025
While pennies will remain legal tender, old ones will gradually be taken out of circulation.
—Nancy Forster-Holt, The Conversation, 20 Nov. 2025
While the penny remains legal tender, banks and merchants are already reporting shortages.
—Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 16 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for legal tender
Carlos Garcia, Fortune, 29 Nov. 2025
Impact on Customers Though the penny will remain legal tender, everyday cash transactions may increasingly resemble McDonald’s policy, with retailers rounding to the nearest nickel when pennies are unavailable.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2025
While pennies will remain legal tender, old ones will gradually be taken out of circulation.
—Nancy Forster-Holt, The Conversation, 20 Nov. 2025
While the penny remains legal tender, banks and merchants are already reporting shortages.
—Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 16 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for legal tender
Recent Examples of Synonyms for legal tender
Noun
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The United Kingdom does not award cash bonuses for Olympic medals, meaning Team Great Britain athletes will not receive additional payments for podium finishes in 2026.—
Lee Ying Shan,Sydney Goh,
CNBC,
16 Feb. 2026
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Know More Initially founded in 2012 with a $5 million dollar grant from the John Templeton Foundation, Nautilus incinerated cash, sparing no expense in its pursuit of bringing resplendent literary science to the reading public.—
Brendan Ruberry,
semafor.com,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Karen Powers overheard the adjuster accusing her husband and brother of having failed to perform work with the money that State Farm had issued on the earlier claim.—
J.C. Hallman,
Oklahoman,
10 Feb. 2026
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Cathy is also a woman feeling the pressure of getting married, ideally to a dude with money.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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And then on the flip side of the coin, there was a lot going on.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
14 Feb. 2026
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Consider the fate of the $TRUMP meme coin, currently trading below its high of $39 and its low of somewhere south of the Ninth Circle of Hell.—
Pat Beall,
Sun Sentinel,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Protests sprang up all over Iran in December and January, largely fueled by an unaffordability crisis driven by inflation and the depreciation of the country’s currency.—
Nollyanne Delacruz,
Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2026
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Investigators said Dicer paid those boys in classroom currency.—
Jennifer Borrasso,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Millions of dollars in federal funds were set to flow once again to the Hudson River Tunnel Thursday night, after a federal court order blocking the bucks expired.—
Evan Simko-Bednarski,
New York Daily News,
13 Feb. 2026
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Over 3 billion bucks in overall box office take?—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Legal tender.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/legal%20tender. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
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