Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
sucre

sucre

1 9.9
The unit of money Ecuador used before the US dollar
  • noun
  • Literature
: sucre
  • In the past, you could buy a meal for just a few sucres in Ecuador's markets.

Examples

  • NOTE: At this time, 2,000 sucres equaled approximately 1 U.S. dollar.

    Academic text (1997)

  • When the Inti is undervalued relative to the Ecuadorean sucre, then contraband exports from Peru take place, and sucres as well as dollars enter the Peruvian black market.

    Academic text (1991)

  • Before the adoption of the U.S. dollar, many people in Ecuador relied on the sucre for everyday transactions.

  • The value of a single sucre has drastically changed over the years due to inflation in Ecuador.

Surface Forms

sucre singular
sucres plural

Etymology

Sucre for Ecuador's old money comes from the name of a South American independence hero, General Antonio José de Sucre. So the country called its currency sucre to honour him, not because of 'sugar'.