hard currency
10
4.9
- noun
- /hɑrd ˈkɜrənsi/
- Specialized
:
moneda fuerte
- Yemen's economy crumbled after its two main sources of hard currency, foreign aid and foreign remittances, were cut off.
- hard currency earnings
- hard currency debt
- hard currency reserves
Examples
-
Instead, the most suitable collateral would be the export earnings in hard currency of the domestic firms.
Academic text (1999) -
The private sector thus has to obtain hard currencies to make payments for their imported goods.
Academic text (1995) -
As a result, the government must earn back the hard currency it invested to make such goods or services available.
Academic text (1990) -
Singapore has high growth, few trade barriers, and more than enough hard currency to import from any source.
Academic text (1994) -
Kuwait demonstrates a creative solution to a state's need for hard currency.
Academic text (1995) -
Tourism replaced sugar as the island's principal hard currency earner and could easily double over the next five years.
Academic text (1996) -
One of Singapore's attractions is that Chinese firms have found it possible to raise hard currency there.
Academic text (1996) -
Elsewhere, health systems fell victim to underfunded health services, political corruption, and severe shortages of hard currency.
Academic text (1993) -
The foreign trade deficit exceeded two billion dollars annually, and Cuba's hard currency debt almost doubled to over six billion dollars.
Academic text (1990) -
Travelers in many countries prefer to carry hard currency for their purchases due to its stability.
How Stable
- Specialized
10
4.9
- Specialized
- Specialized
18
5.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The gaming meaning — a premium, often purchasable in‑game currency — is not directly derivable from the literal senses 'hard' (firm/solid) + 'currency' (money). There is a partial, metaphorical link ("hard" as real/valuable/convertible vs in‑game "soft" currency) that could give some clue, but this technical/jargon use is not reliably predictable for an average B1 learner.
Etymology
Hard currency comes from the idea of money that is solid and trusted, with the word hard bringing to mind coins or gold that keep their value. So 'hard currency' means money that is widely accepted and stays 'stable' even in a crisis.