variants
or sheqel
plural shekels or shekalim
she-ˈkä-lim
or shekelim
shē-ˈkā-lim
or sheqalim
she-ˈkä-lim
1
a
: any of various ancient units of weight
especially
: a Hebrew unit equal to about 252 grains troy
b
: a unit of value based on a shekel weight of gold or silver
2
: a coin weighing one shekel
3
shekels plural, informal
: money
He speculated that … it would cost him $48 per jersey, or $4.8 million. Later, a league source told him the projected cost was closer to a mere $700,000. That's still a lot of shekels …—David Fink
4
: the basic monetary unit of Israel see Money Table
Cite this Entry
“Shekel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shekel. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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