reserve currency

noun

1. any currency, as the U.S. dollar, used as a medium to settle international debts.

reserve currency

noun

1. foreign currency that is acceptable as a medium of international payments and that is therefore held in reserve by many countries

Word History and Origins

Origin of reserve currency¹

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

While foreign nations have used dollars as their reserve currency, that could change if the U.S. does not adopt more sensible spending habits, he said.

From Los Angeles Times

He also said that while the US dollar's role as the world's number one reserve currency was "safe today" he thought that "everyone has to do things to make sure safety occurs. When we ride a bus or a car or plane, we put on a seatbelt".

From BBC

Trashing the international order would gut the dollar as a reserve currency, rattle the stock market and return us to the instability of the 1930s.

From Salon

“The dollar is finished as the world’s reserve currency,” Bove said.

From New York Times

“The dollar is finished as the world’s reserve currency,” Mr. Bove said matter-of-factly, perched in an armchair outside his home office just north of Tampa, from which he predicted that China will overtake the U.S. economy.

From New York Times