ENGLISH
REFERENCE

abe

n. countable
C2 Proficiency US //ˈeɪb// abe Humorous Slang

n. a slang term for a five-dollar bill in the United States. It comes from the fact that Abraham Lincoln's face is on the money.

n. a colloquial term for a five-dollar United States banknote. Derived from the portrait of Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth U.S. president, featured on the obverse.


SIMPLE

Can you lend me an abe for the vending machine?

CONTEXTUAL

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled abe to pay for the coffee.

COMPLEX

While the term is less common than 'fin' or 'fiver', some regional dialects still use 'abe' to refer specifically to the five-dollar denomination in casual transactions.

Etymology 1

Shortened from Abraham. In the slang sense for money, refers to the picture of Abraham Lincoln on the currency.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Japanese 阿部 (Abe), Japanese 安部 (Abe) or Japanese 安倍 (Abe).

Usage

Informal and primarily North American; often used in plural form when referring to multiple five-dollar bills.

Idioms1 entry

© 2026 English Reference