legal tender

noun

Any form of currency that, by law, cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt equal to the amount offered.

Similar
tenderstamp
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Meanings

nounlegal tender (countable and uncountable, plural legal tenders)

plural legal tenders

  1. countableuncountablelawAny form of currency that, by law, cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt equal to the amount offered.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounsomething that can be used as an official medium of payment

Similar
tenderstamp
Broader
medium of exchangemonetary system
Also see
coin of the realmmoneystamptender

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Translations

Catalan moneda de curs legal
  • moneda de curs legalcurrency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
Chinese Mandarin 法定貨幣 /法定货币, 法償貨幣 /法偿货币
  • 法定貨幣 /法定货币 (fǎdìng huòbì)currency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
  • 法償貨幣 /法偿货币 (fǎcháng huòbì)currency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
Dutch wettig betaalmiddel
  • wettig betaalmiddelcurrency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
Esperanto leĝa valuto
  • leĝa valutocurrency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
Finnish laillinen maksuväline
  • laillinen maksuvälinecurrency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
French cours légal
  • cours légalcurrency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
German gesetzliches Zahlungsmittel
  • gesetzliches Zahlungsmittelcurrency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
Hungarian törvényes fizetőeszköz, törvényes fizetési eszköz
  • törvényes fizetőeszközcurrency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
  • törvényes fizetési eszközcurrency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
  • törvényes pénzcurrency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
Irish dlíthairiscint
  • dlíthairiscintcurrency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
Italian valuta legale
  • valuta legalecurrency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
Japanese 法定通貨, 法貨
  • 法定通貨 (hōtei tsūka)currency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
  • 法貨 (hōka)currency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
Korean 법화, 법정통화
  • 법화 (beophwa)currency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
  • 법정통화 (beopjeongtonghwa)currency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
Polish środek płatniczy
  • środek płatniczycurrency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
Portuguese curso forçado
  • curso forçadocurrency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
Russian зако́нное платёжное сре́дство
  • зако́нное платёжное сре́дство (zakónnoje platjóžnoje srédstvo)currency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
Spanish moneda legal, moneda de curso legal
  • moneda legalcurrency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
  • moneda de curso legalcurrency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
Swedish lagligt betalningsmedel
  • lagligt betalningsmedelcurrency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
Ukrainian законний платіжний засіб
  • законний платіжний засіб (zakonnyj platižnyj zasib)currency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
Vietnamese đấu thầu hợp pháp
  • đấu thầu hợp phápcurrency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
Welsh arian cyfreithlon
  • arian cyfreithloncurrency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt
Cite this entry
APA

legal tender. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/legal%20tender

MLA

“legal tender.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/legal%20tender. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “legal tender,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/legal%20tender.

Source: legal tender on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.