English Reference
Noun

banknote

n. countable
A2 Elementary US /ˈbæŋkˌnoʊt/ UK /bˈænknəʊt/ ban·knote UK spelling banknotes

n.a piece of paper money issued by a bank or government. You use it to pay for things instead of coins.

n.a promissory note issued by a central bank or authorised financial institution, serving as legal tender in paper form.


SIMPLE

She paid with a fifty-pound banknote.

CONTEXTUAL

The cashier held the banknote up to the light to check it was genuine.

COMPLEX

In an era of contactless payments, the sight of a crisp banknote changing hands has become increasingly rare in urban economies.

Usage

Takes 'a' or a numeral before it; plural form is 'banknotes'.


From bank + note.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level A2 · Elementary
Frequency Occasional
Updated