unpeg

IPA/ʌnˈpeɡ/
IPA/ʌnˈpeɡ/

unpeg — verb

  • unpegpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • unpegs3rd person singular
  • unpegging-ing form
  • unpeggedpast simple

1. to stop keeping a currency's value tied to that of another currency, so the mark

1.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to stop keeping a currency's value tied to that of another currency, so the market can decide what it is worth

Example

Nigeria's central bank unpegged the naira from the US dollar in June 2016.

unpeg [currency] + from + [currency]

Shirin argued that the government should unpeg the rial before reserves ran out.

Common collocations
  • unpeg from the dollar
  • unpeg the currency
  • unpeg the exchange rate
Synonyms
  • decouple

    broader term for breaking any link, not only financial

  • delink

    similar but less specific to currency contexts

  • float

    describes the resulting state after unpegging, not the act itself

Antonyms
  • peg

    to fix a currency's value to another currency or standard

Grammar Patterns

unpeg + [currency] + from + [currency/standard]

Usage Note

Subject is usually a government or central bank. Frequently used with 'from' to name the currency or standard being abandoned.

Common Mistakes

The pound unpegged from the dollar.
The government unpegged the pound from the dollar.
'unpeg' is transitive; a currency does not unpeg itself.

2. to lift something off the peg or nail it was hanging from

2.verbtransitiveC2
Definition

to lift something off the peg or nail it was hanging from

Example

Yael unpegged her damp coat from the hook by the back door.

literal: unpeg [clothing] + from + [hook]

Anya unpegged her apron from the kitchen hook before sitting down to dinner.

Common collocations
  • unpeg a coat
  • unpeg the washing
  • unpeg from the hook
Synonyms
  • unhook

    more common term for removing something from a hook

  • detach

    broader term for separating anything that was attached

Antonyms
  • peg

    to attach or hang something on a peg

Grammar Patterns

unpeg + [object] + from + [peg/hook]

Usage Note

Rare, mostly in older or literary texts. Object is typically a physical item such as clothing, a tool, or a picture hung on a wall.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Unpeg is the most specific of these words — it only describes ending a fixed exchange rate between currencies. Decouple and delink are broader: you can decouple two issues in an argument or delink a train carriage, while unpeg always concerns money. Float names the state that follows unpegging (a currency floats after being unpegged), but it does not refer to the act of breaking the peg itself. Detach is the most general term and can describe any physical or abstract separation. For example, 'The central bank unpegged the peso' (correct, financial context) versus 'The central bank detached the peso from the dollar' (unusual — sounds physical rather than financial).

decouple ↗delinkfloat ↗detach ↗

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Formed from the prefix 'un-' (meaning 'to reverse or undo') and 'peg' (a small pin or bolt used for hanging or fastening). The literal sense — removing something from a physical peg — appeared in the 19th century. The financial meaning emerged in the mid-20th century as countries began moving away from fixed exchange rate systems, especially after the collapse of the Bretton Woods agreement in the early 1970s.

First known use

1602

1602, in the meaning defined at sense 1