CURRENCY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does currency mean? 

• CURRENCY (noun)
  The noun CURRENCY has 3 senses:

1. the metal or paper medium of exchange that is presently used

2. general acceptance or use

3. the property of belonging to the present time

  Familiarity information: CURRENCY used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CURRENCY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The metal or paper medium of exchange that is presently used

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Hypernyms ("currency" is a kind of...):

medium of exchange; monetary system (anything that is generally accepted as a standard of value and a measure of wealth in a particular country or region)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "currency"):

money (the official currency issued by a government or national bank)

Eurocurrency (currency of the major financial and industrial countries held in those countries for the purpose of lending and borrowing)

cash; hard cash; hard currency (money in the form of bills or coins)

hard currency (a currency that is not likely to depreciate suddenly in value)

folding money; paper currency; paper money (currency issued by a government or central bank and consisting of printed paper that can circulate as a substitute for specie)

coinage; metal money; mintage; specie (coins collectively)

Sense 2

Meaning:

General acceptance or use

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

the currency of ideas

Hypernyms ("currency" is a kind of...):

prevalence (the quality of prevailing generally; being widespread)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The property of belonging to the present time

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

currency; currentness; up-to-dateness

Context example:

the currency of a slang term

Hypernyms ("currency" is a kind of...):

nowness; presentness (the quality of being the present)

Attribute:

current (occurring in or belonging to the present time)

noncurrent (not current or belonging to the present time)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "currency"):

contemporaneity; contemporaneousness; modernism; modernity; modernness (the quality of being current or of the present)

Derivation:

current (occurring in or belonging to the present time)

 Context examples 

A data type comprised of a quantity of money in some currency.

(Monetary Amount Data Type, NCI Thesaurus)

On my affording an opportunity, through the medium of the currency of the realm, of the allaying, at a later period, this beneficial evil, one of the men remarked:—That 'ere 'ouse, guv'nor, is the rummiest I ever was in.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)