Phrase guide

fiat money

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A type of currency that a government declares as legal tender, deriving its value from public trust and regulatory decree rather than any intrinsic worth from commodities, such as gold.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: banking, business, economics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fiat currency

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

money that the government declares to be legal tender although it cannot be converted into standard specie

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: paper money, folding money, paper currency

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

14 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 法定貨幣 /法定货币 (fǎdìng huòbì) — money that is given a legal value
  • Dutch: fiduciair geld — money that is given a legal value
  • Dutch: fiatgeld — money that is given a legal value
  • Esperanto: fidata mono — money that is given a legal value
  • Finnish: fiat-raha — money that is given a legal value
  • French: monnaie fiduciaire — money that is given a legal value
  • Italian: moneta fiat — money that is given a legal value
  • Polish: pieniądz fiducjarny — money that is given a legal value
  • Portuguese: moeda fiduciária — money that is given a legal value
  • Romanian: monedă fiduciară — money that is given a legal value
  • Russian: фидуциарные деньги (fiduciarnyje denʹgi) — money that is given a legal value
  • Russian: фиатные (fiatnyje) — money that is given a legal value
  • Spanish: moneda fiduciaria — money that is given a legal value
  • Swedish: fiatpengar — money that is given a legal value