benjamin

benjamin — noun

1. an American banknote worth one hundred dollars

1.nounC1
Definition

an American banknote worth one hundred dollars

Example

Samir traded two benjamins for smaller bills at the hotel desk.

informal cash-counting: two benjamins

The mechanic asked for one benjamin before starting the emergency repair.

one benjamin = one $100 note

Common collocations
  • one benjamin
  • two benjamins
  • trade a benjamin
Synonyms
  • hundred-dollar bill

    neutral term for the note itself

  • C-note

    informal American slang with a similar tone

  • bill

    much broader, so the amount must be clear from context

Usage Note

Usually used in informal American talk about cash. Speakers often use the plural Benjamins when counting several notes.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For this sense, hundred-dollar bill is the plain, neutral name. benjamin is informal American slang, and it sounds more vivid when people are talking about cash, tips, gambling, or quick payments. C-note is also slang, but it is a little older in tone and is less likely to appear in careful everyday speech. Bill is the broadest word: it can mean any paper note, so it only works when the amount is already obvious. Someone might say They paid me in benjamins in casual talk, but a bank clerk would usually say hundred-dollar bills.

hundred-dollar billC-note ↗bill ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • stack of benjamins

Phrases

  • pay in benjamins
  • break a benjamin

Etymology

HebrewEnglishAmerican English slang

This slang sense comes from Benjamin Franklin, whose portrait appears on the United States one-hundred-dollar note. Speakers began using his first name as a quick informal way to mean the note itself, especially when talking about cash.

First known use

1994

1994, in the meaning defined above Noun (2)