banknotes

IPA/bˈaŋknəʊts/
KK[bˈæŋknˌots]IPA/bˈæŋknˌoʊts/

banknotes — noun

1. Paper money produced by a country's official bank, with a stated face value and

1.nounB1
Definition

Paper money produced by a country's official bank, with a stated face value and used in everyday buying and selling.

Example

Zara handed the shopkeeper a folded banknote and waited for her change.

folded banknote

The banknote in the glass case was from a country that no longer exists.

Common collocations
  • a bundle of banknotes
  • a wad of banknotes
  • count banknotes
  • forged banknotes
  • withdraw banknotes
Synonyms
  • bill

    American English; the everyday word for a banknote (a five-dollar bill)

  • note

    British English; the everyday word for a banknote (a ten-pound note)

  • paper money

    more general — covers all money made of paper, not only single notes

Antonyms
  • coin

    metal money, used for smaller amounts

Usage Note

Most often used in the plural. In everyday speech, people more commonly say cash, or bill (American English) / note (British English).

Common Mistakes

She had only one banknotes left in her bag.
She had only one banknote left in her bag.
the singular is 'banknote,' not 'banknotes.'

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Banknotes, bills, notes, cash, and currency all refer to forms of money, but they differ in scope and register. Banknotes is the formal term for paper money issued by a central bank. Bill is the everyday American English word for the same thing (a five-dollar bill), while note is its British equivalent (a five-pound note). Cash is broader — it covers both banknotes and coins, and emphasises physical money rather than card or digital payment. Currency is the most general term, referring to the entire money system of a country (the currency of Japan is the yen), and includes both coins and banknotes.

bill ↗note ↗cash ↗currency ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • a bundle of banknotes
  • a wad of banknotes

Etymology

ItalianLatinFrenchEnglish

Formed in English from 'bank' (ultimately from Italian banca, meaning a money-changer's bench or table) and 'note' (from Latin nota, meaning a mark or written message). The earliest banknotes appeared in the late 1600s as written promises from a bank to pay the bearer a set sum, and the compound word followed soon after.