Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
metal money

metal money

1.8
Coins used to pay instead of paper notes
  • noun
  • /ˈmɛtəl ˈmʌni/
translation icon : moneda
  • Heck, we could go on using the durable plastic and metal money provided by the national banking system for years, even if the banking system itself folded up.

Examples

  • Many people prefer using metal money for small transactions instead of credit cards.

  • She found a few coins of metal money in her pocket while cleaning the laundry.

  • We have metal money which is gold and silver, I call it God's money.

  • One commenter thinks the answer is to go back to metal money: gold, silver, and copper.

    Blog text (16)

  • During the market fair, vendors accepted only metal money for their goods.

Synonyms

coin
vsmetal money
499 1.0

A flat round piece of metal used as money

refers to money in metal collectively rather than one piece
coinage
vsmetal money
2 4.7

Coins produced by a government for use as money

is the general term for money in metal without production focus
specie
vsmetal money
  • Specialized
1 9.9

Money in coins rather than paper notes

is defined as money in metal rather than paper

Antonyms

paper money
16 1.6

Money made of printed paper notes that a government uses

Surface Forms

metal money singular
metal moneys plural

Morphology

metal + money

The meaning 'money in the form of coins' follows directly from combining 'metal' (made of metal) with 'money' (currency), so the overall sense is transparently compositional. This is a straightforward noun + noun description (metal money = money made of metal/coins) that a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily understand.

Etymology

Metal money names money made from metal rather than paper. Long ago people used small metal pieces marked with a value as 'coins', so the phrase means 'coins', not 'paper money'.