paper money

noun

Synonyms of paper moneynext
1
: money consisting of government notes and banknotes
2
: bank money

Examples of paper money in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The parking kiosks the city plans to use will take credit cards and coins, but no paper money. — David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Sep. 2025 The beans represent coins, the greens they are served with symbolize paper money, and cornbread is for gold. — Vogue, 30 Dec. 2025 Even kids in elementary school now have their own debit cards, and plenty of today's children may never even handle paper money and coins. — Melissa Willets, Parents, 30 Oct. 2025 Trump’s signature also was included, a design element that would differ from other paper money. — Bill Barrow, Fortune, 29 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for paper money

Word History

First Known Use

1691, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of paper money was in 1691

Rhymes for paper money

See All Rhymes for paper money

Browse Nearby Words

paper match
paper money
papermouth
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Paper money.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paper%20money. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

paper money

noun
: money consisting of government notes and bank notes

More from Merriam-Webster on paper money

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for paper money

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All