Standard Lemma guide

greenback

noun · 5 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: G R IY1 N B AE2 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any bill that is legal tender in the US (originally printed with green and black ink) issued by the Federal Reserve.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The United States dollar.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A unit of American currency issued during the Civil War by the Treasury Department.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: historical

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A wave that has not yet begun to break.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: hobbies, lifestyle, sports, surfing

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

a piece of paper money (especially one issued by a central bank)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he peeled off five one-thousand-zloty notes

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: bill, note, government note, bank bill, banker's bill, bank note, banknote, Federal Reserve note

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: paper money, folding money, paper currency

Narrower terms: silver certificate, hundred dollar bill, c-note, fifty dollar bill, fifty, twenty dollar bill, twenty, tenner, ten dollar bill, fiver, five-spot, five dollar bill, two dollar bill, dollar, dollar bill, one dollar bill, buck, clam

History

Etymology

From green + back.