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Glite Dictionary
foreign bill

foreign bill

7.6
A written order that asks a bank to pay money in another country
  • noun
  • /ˈfɔrɪn bɪl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : letra de cambio extranjera
  • After receiving his foreign bills, he realized he needed to exchange currency to settle the payments.

Examples

  • Lobbies and endorsements and acceptances and foreign bills: $3,014,142 and no cents.

    Topper (1937)

  • The company had trouble collecting payments because of several unpaid foreign bills from their international clients.

  • To manage cash flow issues, the exporter decided to factor in their foreign bills through a financial institution.

Synonyms

bill
vsforeign bill
∞ 1.0

A paper telling you how much you must pay

is a negotiable order instructing payment between parties across countries
foreign draft
vsforeign bill
  • Specialized
7.5

A bank document used to pay money in another country

has identical meaning and use differing only in name
bill of exchange
vsforeign bill
  • Formal
7.5

A written order telling one person or bank to pay money to another at a set time

is specifically drawn and payable across different countries

Surface Forms

foreign bill singular
foreign bills plural

Morphology

foreign + bill

The compound is a straightforward composition of 'foreign' (relating to another country) + 'bill' (a document for money owed), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a bill connected with another country or payable abroad. While the precise financial/legal sense 'bill of exchange' is somewhat technical, the core meaning is transparently derivable from the constituents and follows common cross-linguistic patterns.

Etymology

Foreign bill comes from old trade: merchants used a paper, a bill, promising money that someone would pay in a foreign town. So a foreign bill today means a paper that tells someone 'to be paid in another country'.